


Let's Set This World On Fire

by yokazex



Series: Let’s This World On Fire [1]
Category: HoloEN, Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbians? Lesbians., POV Multiple, Revolution, Revolutionary War, Slow Burn, Time Travel, hololive members going apeshit on some cops, kiara probably commits arson, the antis are a private army for some reason, there's also and eldritch god in this, this is just an excuse for me to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yokazex/pseuds/yokazex
Summary: Magical creatures known as Mythoses used to be free- until suddenly they weren't. Now an oppressive private military company known as ANTIs control the streets of Japan and has turned the country into a surveillance state- no one gets in or out. However, a group only known as 'Cover Corps' seek to fight back the ANTIs and liberate the Mythoses, no matter the cost. Among the chaos are 6 girls with different goals and ambition seeking for peace.Calliope Mori is slowly dying from corruption, her final wish is to just protect Kiara.Kiara Takanashi is a phoenix. She doesn't belong in a bird cage, she wants to be free.Amelia Watson wants revenge, perhaps Cover Corps can offer her that chance.Gawr Gura was born in an Aquarium at an ANTI compound. Her only wish is to see the ocean.Ninomae Ina'nis is nothing but a puppet for an eldritch god. All she ever wanted is to lead her own life.Liria just wanted a damn job, but gets sucked into the discord anyways.Welcome to the Revolution.(Revolution AU)
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Ninomae Ina'nis, Gawr Gura/Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia, Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Inugami Korone/Nekomata Okayu, Moona Hoshinova/Usada Pekora, Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia (hololive), Shishiro Botan/Yukihana Lamy
Series: Let’s This World On Fire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180130
Comments: 88
Kudos: 185





	1. 1 // Escape

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is a work of fiction (I mean it is a fanfiction), and how the characters are depicted here are a mix of how they are RL and some headcanons that I made for myself. With that said, this Fanfic also contains graphic depiction of violence, so if that isn’t your cup of tea you can turn away now if you want.
> 
> i wrote whatever came to my mind at 11:04pm at night, I'm sorry if some bits sound really weird. idk I thought haveing a revolutionary au of hololive seemed cool at the time but now I'm not so sure.

Calliope Mori was an immortal being, an Avatar of Death whose primary job was to collect the souls of those who have died and oversee said souls. Because of this, she was granted almost omnipotent abilities, one of which included was the ability for her to see to the future. However, Cali could never expect to be running through a filthy alleyway, clothes torn and body covered with wounds that were refusing to heal.

Calli's weak legs did their best to carry the reaper through the alleyway however, there was no denying that they were threatening to give out at any moment. She could not give up now, for behind her were dark-armored men armed with rifles that had been pursuing her for hours. Locks of her pink hair whipped back and forth from behind her like a majestic mane as the freezing wind blew against her figure, biting on her face like an annoying scrouge of mosquitos and causing her hair to sprawl around her eyes and obscure her vision. And yet she still ran, stumbled, tripping over herself as she brushed off the feelings of fatigue and pain that quickly overwhelmed her, desperate for her and a certain phoenix that she had been carrying to escape the armored men.

Calli winced as a bullet flew past her and graze a bit of her cheek, enough to draw blood. _Oh for fuck's sake_. Crimson eyes land on a gap on the walls, small enough that the men would not be able to go in with their clunky armor and huge stature, big enough that Calli could just slip through with Kiara. 

"Hurry up!" Calli heard a rough voice shout from behind her as she started to slow down, another bullet grazes her arm. They were getting closer. "The bitch is getting away!"

With no choice, Calli opted to try and slip through the gap, it was better than being captured by the men. She came to a sudden stop and swept around to face them. 

" _ **Conversus ad umbras!**_ "The trash cans and many debris that littered close to Calli suddenly dissolved into a black mist, growing thick enough that Calli barely could see the men anymore. The last thing she saw before the men were completely out of her view was them stopping in front of the black mist, cursing and shooting at the mist. Calli snickered, it was no ordinary mist, for it was thick enough that it could stop the bullets from reaching her.

 _Sucks to be them_. Calli knew that in a short amount of time, that mist would quickly disappear. With no time to waste, she slowly enters through the gap, going carefully as to not wake up Kiara from her slumber. 

Eventually, Calli managed to slip through to the other side. Calli pressed herself against a nearby wall and held her breath, just as she sees the men run past the gap, shouting incoherent words and curses.

Calli was finally safe- for now. Who knew that those armored were dumb as rocks, too concentrated on the pursuit that they didn't notice a simple gap in the walls that was plain in view. _I need a place to hide and tend to this shitty bird's wounds_. 

Just in her luck, Calli noticed a building not too far from her, and from the looks of it, it looked abandoned and ready to topple over with just a simple touch. It wasn't the best place to hide away for a temporary time, but it was a better option than staying out in the open where the men might double back and find them again. She pulled away from the wall and starts to limp towards the abandoned building.

In Calli's arms, Kiara began to squirm and groan, muttering words too quiet that Calli couldn't hear. Perhaps it was another nightmare, Kiara had been getting those lately.

"Please stop moving, shitty bird. I don't want to drop you." Calli pleaded.

There was no reply from the phoenix. 

Kiara doesn't move again, seemingly urged back to a calmer dream. Though it scared Calli, it almost felt like she was carrying a corpse rather than a sleeping person.

Calli arrived at the abandoned building eyes turning widen as she comprehends just how tall the building was. The architecture was definitely past it's prime, cracks and crevices appearing everywhere in the walls and columns, and metal rebars sticking out from the dusty concrete. There was debris scattered around the ground floor like fallen Jenga bricks. Natural vegetation grew in and out of the abandoned building, like it was _everywhere,_ on the floor, the walls, wrapped around the columns like snakes, and even on the debris. it was like a concrete jungle. If the looks weren't bad enough, there was just this terrible scent in the air that reeked of piss and vile. 

What a great first impression. However, Calli couldn't complain, at least hiding in the building was safer than outside.

Calli climbed up the stairs until she reached the fourth floor. It was in a much 'cleaner' state than the ground floor, thankfully. 

The fourth floor consisted of a single, large corridor. On one side, Calli could see four doors, all beaten and battered and was just hanging off the hinge. Calli assumed that those doors led to a room each. To the other side- opposite to the doors- were giant windows and through it, Calli could see all the houses, all tucked away and quiet for the night. The corridor was blanketed by a thin sheet of moonlight that seeped through the windows, and it gave off this feeling of ethereal beauty that seemed all too peaceful.

 _This place must have been an old apartment complex_. Calli walked towards the closest door and yanked it open. Before her, was just a simple room, and just like the rest of the building, had cracks, cobwebs, and vegetation everywhere. To the far left corner of the room, there was an old mattress, soiled with what vaguely looks like bloodstains.

"Sorry, Kiara," Calli mumbled as she placed Kiara on the mattress. "I know it's against several health code violations but we don't have any choice."

Kiara groaned in response. She was probably still dreaming, but at least she was still alive.

"I'm afraid I have to take a look at your wound, excuse me." Calli lifts up Kiara's shirt, just past the hips, and examined the ugly gash that ran along the length of her stomach. The gash ran deeper than Calli expected, and the amount of blood oozing from it was starting to scare Calli.

"Shit. SHIT!" Calli cursed. "Those fucking bastards, I swear..."

"Ca...Calli?" Came Kiara's weak voice that snapped Calli from her rage. "Wha...What-"

Calli held onto Kiara's hands. "Shhh, please rest, I'll...I-"

"Calli, you're injured too," Kiara interrupted, pointing towards the bullet wound on her legs. "You can't...say much..."

Calli raised Kiara's hand and pressed it against her temple as Kiara went back to sleep. "I know, I know. But I'll be fine, but please Kiara, don't die...please."

 _I need to treat that wound_. Calli looked around for anything to cover and clean the wound, but all she could see were just empty beer bottles and other bits and bobs. _...There's nothing fucking here!_

Calli took a deep breath and collapsed to her knees. Anger flashed through her, hot and hungry, so hungry that she was almost willing to storm back to the men and massacre them. But after that, what next? She ad Kiara had nowhere to go, she had no one but Kiara, who laid there, dying, but if she did nothing, Kiara would die and revive back at the compound where they were held. Bitterness filled her throat and she clung to her rage. Calli's body heaved, then tears rolled down her cheeks, lit by the pale moonlight. This was all just frustrating.

Then Calli heard footsteps and the noises of glass breaking right outside the room, and she snapped back to reality. She quickly turned around and summoned her scythe from her great 'pyrotechnics' of miasma and shadows.

"Who's there!?" She demanded, raising her scythe. She stared at the doorway and caught sight of slight movements in the shadows. 

_Shit, shit, shit!_ Calli cursed in her thoughts. Just in her luck, one problem after another.

"Woah, Woah, calm down there!" Calli heard a voice from outside, panicked, and probably didn't expect the scythe to appear from out of nowhere. 

A teen, probably no more than 15 walked into the room. Despite her youthful look, there was just something about her that felt wise or mature."I've got some supplies you probably need."

"Why should I trust you?!" Calli exclaimed, lowering her scythe. "For all we know, you're probably here to kill us!"

"No no, it's not like that," The girl replied as she waved that notion away. "I'm from next door, well what's left of next door anyways, and heard you say something about a wound." The girl pulled out a small first aid kit from behind her.

Calli glared at her. "...I swear if you take a step closer, I will end your life."

"Please don't, I'm not planning on dying quite yet."

Calli was suspicious of this random girl that came out of nowhere, but there was no way in hell she was going to deny help when she desperately needed it. What choice did she even have? Kiara was bleeding to death and had nowhere to go. She slowly reached for the first aid kit, the girl urging for her to take it. As soon as Calli's hand grasp the kit's handle, she immediately retreated back, bringing the kit with her.

"Well...um," The girl began, leaning against the doorway. "I'll stay here if you need some help, I have some experience when it comes with...this sort of stuff."

Calli opened the kit and sighed in relief as she found the rubbing alcohol and gauze bandages. "I think I'll be good for now."

"Mind telling me what happened? Why you two look like you just went through hell?"

"Because we practically just did," Calli responded as she sets the rubbing alcohol and bandages on the floor. "...We just escaped the ANTIs"

The girl's eyes widened. "Ohohoho shiiiiit...you guys-"

"...Yeah, we're what you humans call 'Mythos'" Calli interrupted. "If you hadn't realized."

"Huh, shoulda figured..." The girl said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "With that scythe and...stuff."

"We managed to escape one of their compounds," Calli began, gesturing towards Kiara. "My...friend here, tried to burn the whole place down. Something exploded and the shrapnel struck her and left a nasty gash."

The girl tilts her head forward to get a better look and winced as soon as she saw how bad the wound looked. "Shit man, that looks like it'll need more than alcohol and bandages."

"You think?"

"The wound, it's pretty deep. Might need to stitch it up, bandages won't simply do the trick." 

Calli clicked her tongue. She should have known, too much blood was coming out making it obvious it was deep. "Well, can you stitch the wound then?" She asked the girl, she had no patience left, Kiara would probably die if she stayed patient.

However, the girl shook her head and Calli was more than tempted to walk over and wring her neck.

"But I do know some people who can." The girl said, and those words were probably the most hopeful thing Calli had ever heard in her undead life.

The girl pulled out a card from her coat, one that looked like it was folded in many times. Calli assumed that years of staying in a pocket didn't do many wonders to it, it just looked old...and a bit yellowish. Although faded, the words 'Cover Corps' could still be read, written on the card in black along with an address Calli was unfamiliar with.

"Cover Corps?" Calli took the card the girl offered her and kept turning it around to see what was special about it. "What the fuck is this 'Cover Corps'?"

"It's a group and not just any group," The girl replied. "It's a revolutionary group that's trying to liberate the oppression of Mythoses"

Calli scoffed. "People are fighting against the ANTIs? Please, that's gotta be the worst idea ever."

The girl gave a small chuckle and made her way towards Calli. The latter heard the movement from behind her and quickly swept around. Her hand was already grasping the handle of her scythe, and if the girl were to do anything to them, one slash of her scythe would suffice. However, in contradiction to Calli's fears, the girl smiled and motioned towards the empty spot beside her.

"May I?"

Calli frowned. "What?"

"May I help you?" The girl repeated. 

The reaper hesitated. The first human she'd interacted with ever since her and Kiara's escape from the compound and they were willing to help a Mythos. It was all too suspicious. 

However, there was a small part of Calli that told her, that maybe the girl really did want to help Calli and Kiara and was a normal person with a shred of decency that was rare amongst the shitstorm the world had become. Perhaps, for once Calli admitted must have been overreacting, it had been a long day.

With one last glare at the girl, Calli shifted aside to give space. The girl took her place beside Calli and was careful to give a bit of space between them.

It was still fucking awkward though.

The girl couched, breaking the awkward tension. "We should take care of the wound on her stomach so we don't risk any infections," The girl pulled out a clean rag from her coat. "Do you have any experience with this sort of thing?"

"Not...really," Calli mumbled. "In my line of work, saving lives isn't really..." Her eyes darted towards her scythe. The girl immediately understood what she meant and didn't question any further.

"How much do you know?"

"Well, all I know is to clean the wound first, then bandage it," Calli replied, grabbing the bottle of alcohol. "Is that what we're going to do."

The girl shook her head. "We need to do something first before we do that." The girl reached over and pressed the clean rag against the wound on Kiara's stomach.

Kiara groaned in response. Calli looked on in worry and gripped onto the girl's hand. "What are you doing?" The former asked, a threat in her voice.

"I'm just applying pressure on the wound, it helps the blood's clotting factors to do its work." The girl replied.

Calli stared at the girl as if she didn't believe what she had said. She let go of her hand but still kept a watching eye on her, just in case she didn't anything...rash. The girl sighed in relief and continued pressing the rag onto Kiara's wound.

There was just an uncomfortable tension in the room as the girl tended to Kiara's wound. Calli towered over the girl like a silent guardian, watching and waiting with her hand just close enough to her scythe that if the girl were to do anything to Kiara, she could quickly grab it and kill her. The girl felt overwhelming pressure from behind her, she decided to just ignore it and concentrate on the injured girl before her.

Several moments pass by like a blur as the girl lifted the rag and threw it to the ground. "Hey, could you grab the bottle of alcohol and clean the wound?" 

Calli nodded and immediately heeded the girl's instructions, grabbing the bottle of alcohol and cotton balls in the first aid kit. She poured a bit of alcohol on the cotton ball and let it soak through. Gently, she dabbed the soaked cotton ball against the wound.

Calli heard Kiara wince from the pain and flinched. "Oh shit, sorry...Kiara" Her apology fell on deaf ears. She continued rubbing the cotton ball over the wound, cleaning out the blood and dirt surrounding it.

"Good job," The girl said as she reached over towards Calli and grabbed the bandages in front of the reaper. "After that, get another cotton ball and dab the wound carefully so we can dry it."

"What are you going to do?" Calli asked as she immediately did what the girl instructed.

"I'm going to bandage the wound, it'll slow down the bleeding enough that you can get to Cover Corps without her dying on the way." The girl replied. "Mind lifting her a bit?"

"Oh yeah, Cover Corps, do you think they will actually help us?"

"Ms. Reaper, trust me on this, they are literally the only ones in this entire world that are willing to help Mythoses." The girl replied. "They take in anyone and help them hide from the ANTI's"

"Yes, you've told me that but is it actually working? This liberating of Mythoses." 

"Yes! It is, you and your friend can go over there and see for yourself, I'll even help you go to them."

Calli paused, finding it hard to speak all of a sudden. She couldn't find the correct words to convey her thanks to the girl. 

"I...um- thank you." Calli finally spoke, turning away.

The girl smiled. "No problem, it isn't much but it's the least I can do," The girl replied. "Also, could you...actually lift up her friend here so it's easier to bandage her."

"Huh?" Calli looked at the girl confused.

"Lift her up please, so I can wrap the bandage around her stomach." The girl repeated, holding up the roll of bandages for Calli to see.

Calli's eyes brightened in realization. "Oh yeah! Sorry." Calli lifted up Kiara slowly, careful to not wake her from her slumber. The girl gave a small smile as thanks and started to wrap the bandage around Kiara's stomach straight away. 

Calli sat beside the girl silently. Watching, waiting. It was clear to Calli that the girl was very much used to this and was put through this situation many times before. Nimble fingers finely wrapping with the bandages, and when the girl finished and admired her handiwork, Calli noticed that the bandages were wrapped neatly around Kiara's stomach.

And suddenly, Calli found herself thankful that the girl came along and practically saved them from their plight. However, among these thoughts, she also found it hard to understand that this girl, human or not, was willing to help her and Kiara- two misfits who were hunted down by the government- knowing that doing so would risk her life.

For once in this cesspit of a city, Calli was filled with hope.

* * *

**2 Years Later**

Night had fallen. The afternoon sky had finally given way, and now all you could see above you was just a blank canopy of inky darkness that stretched out for infinity over your heads. There was no cloud in sight, so you could perfectly see that adorning the darkness were millions of stars, its empyrean glow that gleamed and sparkled with a dazzling light weaving through the shadows. The full moon hung lazily at the top of the world, its hazy light aiding the stars to light the darkness. 

Beneath the peaceful setting of the night sky, stood a bustling metropolis. Buildings of jumbled shapes filled most of the city, and then there were the rows of skyscrapers that stretched from above, windows alight from within. But they were not tall enough to reach the star-studded sky. The cityscape was unsurprisingly urban, There was no vegetation in sight, just streets and walkways of concrete, lit by curtains of light that came from the buzzing street lights. At this time around, the city was at a buzz tonight, the streets would be crowded with thousands of people. It was a weekend and like what most people do, many had set out to drink, dance, laugh, and most importantly, to party hard as a way to celebrate the day.

However, few chose to remain out of the parties and drinking, preferring the tranquil lull of a quiet night, going through Youtube, or reading a good book or two. Among these quiet few was Liria, who really preferred to be sleeping at that time of the night, but the noises and commotion from the streets below had prevented her from doing so.

Liria had wanted to sleep on the bed she had bought from a nearby store that sold second-handed furniture at a rather cheap price, bought using a month's worth of savings and thievery. It may have been old and the mattress had faint traces of stains, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was quite comfortable, more comfortable than a slab of concrete that she was used to sleeping on anyway. It was the first time she had owned a bed for as long as she could remember, and was quite glad that she didn't have to sleep on the ground anymore.

 _It would have been better if I got myself an apartment, but this abandoned building is good enough_. Liria laid on the bed, bored out of her mind from reading the same book- A Tale of Two Cities- over and over again, looking at the cracked ceiling as she mulled over several thoughts.

Liria had called this abandoned apartment complex home for 5 years now. For the first three years, she had stationed herself in a room on the fourth floor and had moved to the building's rooftop bar after wanting a bit of a view of the whole city. The rooftop bar was much more cleaner and 'intact' than the rest of the building, and the chairs and tables that were scattered around before were pretty easy to throw away. She managed to clean up the rest of the place too, filled it with things of her liking- old posters of her favorite shows, random books she bought from a dollar store or stole, bits and bobs like that. Her most favorite was the PC, monitor, and keyboard that a nice old man had given her, and had managed to get work after several months of tampering with components- and getting the next-door rich guy's WIFI password. Now she mainly used it to study, get her mind out from the pain of boredom.

It wasn't like she had many friends to play video games with any way or the time to do so too.

Liria looked at her phone- an old, outdated version that she had owned for quite some time now- to wait for a special call that she had been expecting. A few minutes passed and nothing came up, only a few notifications that occasionally popped up to remind Liria to return to a game she had given up on playing.

Liria thought it was probably time to have a part-time job, it was a much more efficient way to earn money than doing odd jobs for people. A few days ago, she found a poster advertising a local company was having a shortage of employees and was needing more- no experience needed. She had applied for it, and after the interview, was told that they were to give her a call- if she was accepted of course. 

Some time had passed by and Liria was beginning to lose hope. With a sigh, Liria slipped out of her bed and put on her worn out, blue hoodie. Seeing it was an hour until midnight, Liria thought it was time to power down the generator that powered all the electronics in her hideaway and head to sleep. 

She headed over towards the generator, tucked away and hidden in a corner outside the bar, and flicked the switch off. Immediately, the gentle hum of the generator quietened down and the area was engulfed in darkness- save a tiny flicker of light from the oil lamp she left on top of a barrel nearby her bed.

 _Ah fuck, it's late_. Liria thought as she staggered back inside the bar as she felt her eyelids becoming heavy as lead. 

Liria retreated to her bed and quickly tossed herself on top of it. As her head hits the pillow, an exhausted feeling unexpectedly overcame her, like an ocean's wave crashing down in a forceful movement against a shore. People were still partying below, laughter, cheerful banter and the familiar beats of EDM music pulsated in the night. The noise was blaring and distracting, but Liria brushed it off as her mind distorted into a null void, that feeling as if it was lulling her to enter the infinite dimension of unconsciousness and dreams. She hadn't realized she'd been tired the entire day, the anxiety of waiting for the call had distracted her mind from such a simple thing.

As Liria let her consciousness ebb away into nothingness, letting that feeling take her to the empty void know as sleep, she saw a white flash in the corner of her eyes, coming out from behind a row of buildings nearby. 

Liria lifted her head up and stared at the direction the flash came from.

"Wha-".

Liria was interrupted by a deafening noise like extended thunder that reverberated over the partying city. Liria immediately got out of bed, looked up, and witnessed as a fist of orange flames and smoke punched it's way up into the atmosphere. The gigantic flames flattened then spread to form a mushroom shape. Liria continued to watch, as the flames were twisting, writhing, and changing from one shape to another; once a huge ball of orange flames in the sky, not nothing but a huge fog of darkness that covered the part of the city where the flames appeared with smog.

The ground began to shake vigorously. Liria found it hard to keep herself balanced and stay on her feet as the building shook and trembled beneath her. From below, Liria could hear the people screaming, panicking, and dazed in a confused state as they tried to understand what just happened.

It wasn't every day that a random explosion just showed up in the middle of Tokyo. Something was definitely up.

"Holy shit, what the fuck is going on!" Liria waited for the shaking to stop and when it did, she quickly stumbled her way through the darkness towards a portable radio she kept on top of her desk near her bed. 

She frantically flicked through multiple channels in the radio, hoping to find one that was audible. Sadly, all that came out was static. Liria frowned, continuing to switch through the channels. More static.

Liria clicked her tongue, she was turning impatient. With a cry, she slammed her hand on top of the radio, expecting it to just suddenly work. Luck was on Liria's side because fortunately, it worked.

There was still some static from the radio, but Liria could just barely hear comprehensible words.

"Explosion at Shibuya...revolutionary...ANTIs have...-patched." The radio turned back to static, and no words could be heard anymore.

Liria stared at the radio in disbelief. From what Liria gathered, there was yet another attempt at liberating hundreds of imprisoned Mythoses at a massive ANTI compound located in the middle of Shibuya- and she had a pretty good guess who was doing so.

Liria didn't want to miss this. Whoever was attacking the compound right now, they were having a successful attempt at doing so. Liria snapped back to reality, back to the screaming and flames, and hurried over to the fire escape beside the building- the only entranceway and exit to the hideaway ever since Liria sealed the door that led to the rest of the building. 

Liria quickly ran down the fire escape, almost tripping on her way to the ground. Seeing that there was no time to release the ladders at the end, she hopped down and landed on a nearby mattress with a heap. She cringed as she felt the pain of ground shock run through her ankles.

Liria picked herself up with a huff and began to stumble towards the direction where she saw the explosion. She picked up the pace and started to run as the pain in her ankle left, against a current of people running towards the opposite direction she was heading. The noises were much louder in the ground, a crescendo of discord compiled from the panicked screams, deafening sirens of ambulances and police cars, and that pulsating EDM song Liria heard earlier that carried the beat.

Liria looked around her surroundings as she ran. People were abandoning their cars and opting to travel on foot seeing as the street was completely blocked with more cars, policemen ushering people to safety, and a helicopter whizzed pass above. She was surprised that she hadn't seen a single ANTI squad amongst what she saw.

 _They're probably there anyway, they're fucking quick at responding._ Liria mused. 

Liria heard another explosion amidst the chaos, and the ground shook again. The girl continued to run, almost tripping on her feet as the tremors threw off her sense of equilibrium. She carefully traversed through the ocean of people, slipping through any spaces she could pass through.

A third explosion hit and it was much louder, Liria assumed that she would arrive at her destination. As Liria continued on, she spotted a couple of buildings reduced into debris from the explosion, a roaring blaze slowly overtaking them. Her eyes widened in horror as she noticed a few arms stick out from the rubble. 

The architecture of the buildings in the area had always been weak, Liria had heard some of the older residents mention how the Government didn't bother on funding the restoration of the buildings in the area. Instead, they opted to spend all of it on the support and creation of the ANTIs, a decision that many residents thought was a bad idea.

An unlucky few hadn't gotten out in time when the buildings collapsed from the force of the explosion, they were crushed and their bodies were left in the dust.

Liria looked away and kept moving forwards, there was no time to mourn about people she never knew. 

There was more debris in the streets and collapsed buildings as Liria moved further, and along with it were more bodies. She knew she was getting closer to the epicenter of the first explosion. Then the gunfire started. Deafening, and made Liria's ears ring from each shot fired. Amongst the burst of gunfire were voices, cursing, screaming, yelling. Liria could not hear what they were saying over the gunshots, but just from how frantic their screaming had become, Liria could guess something was wrong.

The smell in the air had hit and Liria almost doubled back from the horrible stench. The bitter wind- it carried the acrid scent of gunpowder and blood and it swept across the area and immediately overwhelmed Liria's nose, felt like her nose was set aflame. The ground was slick with blood, too much blood. Liria crouched and began moving at a slower pace, without careful footwork she would definitely slip on the blood. 

A battle. A real battle was happening in the streets of Shibuya. 

Adrenaline coursed through Liria's body like a carp in a river and she felt her heart begin to beat faster. She smiled- as she always does whenever the rush hits her. She couldn't never tell if this adrenaline rush stemmed from fear or excitement.

She spotted a plume of smoke rising nearby and immediately headed towards it. More gunshots rang through the air, louder than before. The stench of gunpowder is stronger.

A bullet whizzed past Liria from behind and missed her by an inch, and struck a concrete barrier in front of her. She heard someone shout something from behind her, Liria couldn't be bothered trying to comprehend the words. Thinking quickly she jumped over the concrete barrier and hid behind it, just as another bullet flew past. 

"Get out from there and put your hands behind your back!" Liria heard the assailant shout. She heard the familiar click of a gun reloading and decided not to take her chances and follow the assailant's demands.

"Why don't you fuck off man, you're probably going to shoot me!" Liria retorted, urging to take a peek of the assailant and looked out from the barrier's side.

The assailant was a giant of a man, with a massive frame that could easily tower over you. He was heavily armored- helmet and everything- wearing the most advanced body armor the modern age could design. What got Liria's attention was the symbol on the man's bullet-proof tactical vest, she felt dread as she realized what that symbol was.

It was the symbol used by the ANTIs. 

There was definitely no way she was getting out from her spot, ANTIs were never good at reasoning and she knew that as soon as she would get out, the man would just shoot her- no words exchanged, no bargaining.

Another gunshot. "I said, get out from behind there or I'll fucking shoot you!" The man demanded once more.

"Holy fuck man, you're literally shooting at me, why the fuck would I get out from-" Liria froze, she couldn't get any more words from her mouth. Behind the man, a dark fog began to form, a swirling, cascading darkness that seemed to be...alive.

"W-wha..?" The man swept around and almost dropped his gun at the sight of the fog. "S-Shit! it's fucking here!"

He began shooting frantically at the fog, hitting anything he could. However, the bullets just flew through the fog and struck whatever was behind it. The man cursed, and clumsily reloaded another found into his gun.

Liria watched in disbelief and confusion as the fog began to shift- twisting and turning from its ethereal form, and shaping itself into a more humanoid being. The man finished reloading and aimed his gun at the fog once more, only to find himself fixed in the spot with a frozen state of fear.

The fog formed itself into a young lady, wearing a black, worn-out cloak and veil, who appeared to be in her mid-20s, with shimmering crimson eyes, and lustrous, vibrant pink hair that flowed and brushed her pale skin. There was a strong scent of chrysanthemums that lingered in the air, replacing the stench of blood and gunpowder.

Holy fuck the woman was beautiful, the man probably thought.

Too bad she was the enemy, and she was there to kill him.

Shadows gathered themselves onto the woman's open hands, swirling, shifting; It began to form itself into a shape, and in the end, it solidified itself into a massive scythe.

"Ah, fuck, FUCK!" The man tried to will himself to shoot but realized he could no longer operate his body and remained frozen as the lady raised her scythe.

"Rest." The woman uttered.

The lady cleaved the man's head off with one clean, quick swipe of her scythe. The head toppled to the floor with a sickening thud and rolled towards the concrete barrier, facial expression frozen in a silent scream.

Liria gasped and stumbled away from her hiding spot. She immediately froze, the woman must have definitely heard her. She heard a clanking noise and she looked up. The woman stood right in front of Liria, she easily towered over her, like a silent guardian. Her crimson eyes were locked onto Liria's own eyes, piercing, and cold.

Those eyes felt rather familiar, Liria swore she saw them before. It wasn't just the eyes too, as Liria took her time to scan the woman, something about the woman just felt oddly familiar. The question was, had she ever met this woman before? And if she did and forgot, it was a rather implausible theory, as what was there to forget about the woman? The crimson eyes, the pink hair, she could be the only one out there to have those characteristics.

The look on the woman's face betrayed to hide that she too, was processing the same thoughts and feelings as Liria was going through. However, she quickly brushed that feeling off and raised her scythe, preparing to cleave Liria's head off like what she had done to the man.

Liria felt that rush of adrenaline course through her body again, and this time for sure, she knew it was through fear. 

"Who are you?" The woman demanded, scowling. "Are you a part of the ANTIs too?"

Liria gulped, this woman was goddamn terrifying.

* * *

**「Next time」**

"Have we met before?"

"Calli, stop! That's her-!"

"Oh god, how did I get here?"

"Welcome, we've been expecting you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when you're soon to be girlfriend is slowly dying but a tiny hobo comes out of nowhere and gives you an impromptu medical lesson, also holy fuck calli.
> 
> Also some notes here: 
> 
> "Conversus ad umbras"- Turn to Shadows
> 
> I thought it would be nice to think that Calli can speak Latin because of how old she is. yeah


	2. 2// Hello there, consequences of my own actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liria really, really fucking hates her curious nature, and just like how that saying goes- "Curiosity killed the cat"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if some characters seem ooc

"Who are you?" The woman demanded, scowling. "Are you part of the ANTIs too?"

Liria struggled to speak. It felt like this goddamn woman was exerting this overwhelming pressure akin to an authoritarian figure that had absolute control over the submissive. Everything about the woman just screamed authority. Liria felt like she was a peasant kneeling in front of a king, facing judgment-

Facing death.

Liria's forced herself to look up. She stared mostly at the scythe. It was gigantic, to say the least, a sheen of pale moonlight reflected on its blade and made the scythe glow, make it appear almost heavenly. There was a glint of hunger resonating from the scythe as if it was constantly hungry for blood. 

Liria shuddered, if the woman wasn't frightening enough, that scythe was goddamn terrifying. However, she couldn't deny that she thought the scythe looked pretty fucking cool. 

Liria took deep breaths to help calm the nerves. The shock of seeing the man killed was already wearing off, replaced by a feeling of numbness, like someone was pumping volumes and volumes of valium into her veins. Liria did felt a bit scared, but all she could think of now was how she should have eaten an egg sandwich she left behind back at the hideaway. All the running and suspense from earlier really didn't help to satisfy her hunger.

God she really hoped her stomach didn't rumble right at that time, it would probably make the tension between her and the woman awkward than tense.

She started to move, and she lifted her head to look up at the woman's eyes. A look of seething anger crossed the woman's face as their eyes met and Liria sank down to the ground again and bothered not to look up again. This woman was completely hostile. 

Forget the egg sandwich, all Liria wanted now was to become one with the pavement.

"Answer me," The woman demanded once more, in a low, threatening voice. "Are you part of the ANTIs?"

A strained snort forced it's way out from Liria as she almost laughed from the audacity of the woman's question. "Fuck no, those guys can eat shit and die for all I care."

Liria risked looking up at the woman again. A look of confusion flashed on her face then quickly disappeared like lightning, reverting back to that look of anger that Liria was starting to get used to. The woman stepped closer and leaned down.

"Are you lying?" She demanded. 

Liria scoffed. "No! I swear to god, do I look like someone who's part of that damned company?!"

The woman didn't answer and remained quiet instead. Liria felt a spasm of fear low in her gut. She hoped that the woman saw reason and wasn't going to kill her there, she wasn't really prepared to die yet. She pushed herself off the ground and got into a more comfortable position. If she were to die now anyway, she'd liked to do so while she was comfortable.

Liria heard the woman mumble to herself in a foreign language. Definitely not Japanese, nor English. Perhaps Latin?

The woman sighed, and Liria felt that she was probably given the all-clear and won't be killed that night. 

Then the woman prepared to lift her scythe and gazed at Liria with those cold and piercing eyes. Something in Liria told her that she wasn't getting out of this alive. The woman looked almost apologetic for this, if it wasn't for the hostility that dominated her expression.

"Sorry," The woman began as she lifted her scythe over her head. "I have to kill you, you're not meant to see me here, ANTI or not."

Adrenaline coursed through Liria's body again. Her body screamed for her to move out of the way for the impending strike, it could tell that she could easily dodge to the size. But that goddamned pressure was back and her body felt weaker than before and she remained fixated on the spot.

"...Can I ask one question before you kill me though?" Liria quietly asked.

The woman appeared to be contemplating Liria's request. "Go on." She replied hesitantly. At least this woman was nice enough to give final wishes.

The question that Liria wanted to ask had been stuck at the back of her mind ever since her eyes met with the woman's own. The answer would probably be far off than she would hope, but curiosity was slowly eating her away. And anyway, she was going to die so what was the hurt in asking?

"Have we met before?" Liria finally asked.

The woman's face remained neutral, but Liria could tell she was slowly pondering for her response to the girl's question. 

The woman shook her head and prepared to bring her scythe down on Liria's head. "No, probably not." A lie, most probably. Liria saw recognition in the woman's red eyes, as if she did recognize Liria, but wasn't too sure if she did.

Liria gave a dry laugh of mock humor. This whole situation was just funny. "I see."

Liria lowered her head as she accepted her fate, waiting for the blade to be brought down and behead her. 

The woman brought down her scythe-

"Calli, stop! That's her-!"

Liria's eyes snapped open in surprise as she heard another voice shout from behind her. Though she had accepted to die by the woman's hand, a small part of her hadn't, and it almost felt like it was screaming for her to live. A spike of energy quickly filled Liria, filled her vein, her head. Everything. She felt her mind getting heavy, a voice in it chanting for her to live.

She looked at the scythe, like she was looking straight at a hungry beast, angry, and very much alive. Time seemed to slow down before her very eyes. 

Liria wanted to live, she was sure of it. 

The woman hesitated after hearing the voice, Liria jumped at the opportunity. Thinking fast, she jumped out of the scythe's way and stumbled back just as she felt time move again. The scythe went down, and Liria managed to move away fast enough that the scythe only nicked Liria's forehead, giving her a tiny gash that drew a tiny amount of blood. The woman expected to hear the soft squelch of the girl's neck being cut apart, but instead, she had missed, and the scythe dove straight to the ground. 

Liria's brain sputtered for a moment. She managed to dodge that scythe. The shock of having been almost killed gripped her mind and put heavy pressure on her body. She quickly shuffled towards the concrete barrier as she struggled to get her breathing even. 

The woman clicked her tongue and immediately raised her scythe again to deliver another strike. Liria prepared herself to dodge again.

However, a figure appeared and ran in between Liria and the woman, arms outstretched to shield Liria. The woman's eyes widened and she froze.

The figure was a fair-skinned woman, early twenties-maybe, and was slightly shorter than the woman wielding the scythe. She had beautiful hair, bouncy and full, colored orange and tinted blue, akin to flames. Something dangling from the woman's ears caught Liria's attention and she looked closer. Two blue feathers hung from the figure's ears like earrings, sparkling like diamonds.

Where the fuck were these pretty women coming from?

"Ki...Kiara?!" The woman exclaimed, lowering her scythe. "What are you doing here? Didn't I told you to go back?!"

"I followed you here because I know that you're probably going to do something stupid again!" The orange-haired woman exclaimed, waving her hands around frantically. "And guess what? I find you here, about to do something stupid!"

The scythe wielder scoffed. "I'm not doing anything stupid, Kiara." She reasoned. "I'm just getting rid of witnesses, that's all."

"Even when that witness was the girl that saved us two years ago, Calli?" The orange-haired woman questioned.

Liria noticed confusion flash in the scythe-wielding woman's eyes. She could almost see the cogs working in her brain trying to understand what the other woman was talking about. Liria was confused herself too. What did the other woman mean, about two years ago?

Then it struck her, a memory left to rot in the darkest depths of Liria's mind resurfaced and came rushing in like an angry bull. Two years ago when she'd just turn 15, she remembered taking two Mythoses in and helped them hide from the ANTIs, nursed them back to health, and even helped them get to Cover Corps, the well known revolutionary group dedicated to liberating the Mythoses after they were suddenly declared enemies of Japan and were quickly detained.

Liria never knew what happened to the two after she got them to Cover Corps, although she did get a letter two days letter thanking her. She didn't think much of it, and now that letter was left all forgotten in a dusty compartment somewhere in Liria's hideaway, and Liria's memory of them was left stored in the back of her mind.

The two women in front of her were talking about two years ago.

Two years ago, Liria met two Mythoses.

One of the women- the orange-haired one- mentioned how Liria was the girl that saved them two years ago.

Two years ago, Liria saved two Mythoses.

The rusty gears in Liria's brain started to turn as she tried to piece everything together. 

Oh. Oh shit.

Realization struck Liria as if someone was bashing her with a bat. A small chuckle forced its way out of her mouth.

The two women in front of her were the two Mythoses she had helped, two years ago. She had forgotten their names, but that was them. And from the looks of it, they were doing fine, beheading soldiers from a private army, probably caused the multiple explosions that destroyed that part of the city and whatnot.

Fate was just really creative, huh?

Liria was just having a difficult time processing all this, she looked at the scythe-wielder and almost laughed seeing how she was having a much harder time understanding everything.

The scythe-wielding woman turned her head away from the orange-haired woman and looked dead straight at Liria's eyes. Those red eyes traveled around, scrutinizing every bits and bob of Liria's parts. The latter felt that gaze pierce through her body- through her soul. That pressure from before came back, weaker than it was but still enough that Liria could notice. 

The scythe-wielding woman's eyes suddenly widened and she tilted her head back. Those cold, crimson eyes softened in an instance and Liria saw recognition dance within them.

"...It is you..." The woman finally spoke, in a softer tone. "We finally found you."

She looked up at her scythe and remembered what she was about to do. Disgusted and shocked, she threw her scythe onto the ground and it instantly dispelled into shadows, disappearing into blackened mist. 

"I'm...sorry about that," The woman hesitantly spoke. "We have a rule to kill any witnesses every mission and I thought you were just a random person who witnessed-"

"All of this." The woman gestured to the destruction around them with a wave of her cloak. Debris and blood everywhere, dismembered bodies left and scattered around waiting for the scavenging birds to make a buffet out of them, and upturned asphalt and rock that made up the ground. Liria hadn't even noticed earlier, she was too occupied looking for whichever caused the explosions from earlier.

"Yeah, and Calli here almost would have killed you, because she is a big dummie and lets her blood lust take over her every time!" The orange-haired woman but in, a pout on her face. "Big, stupid Calli, always taking the dumbest decision."

The scythe-wielder put her hands up in defense. "H-Hey! I did say I was sorry I almost killed her, right?"

The orange-haired pulled her tongue out towards the other in mockery as a response.

Liria chuckled. It was obvious these two were quite close. "So, we did meet each other, a while ago, huh?"

The scythe-wielder had sighed, remembering the question Liria had asked earlier. "Yeah, I...I guess we did." She looked away.

The woman went quiet, and the hostile tension between her and Liria dissolved into an awkward silence. Her figure slumped and she looked desperate to be anywhere but there. Her red eyes were daring everywhere, refusing to look Liria in the eyes. Liria guessed she was just appreciating the chaos around her.

Earlier the woman was a towering figure, all mighty and grand, standing with brimming confidence. Now she just looked small, maybe almost pitiful, and just straightup guilty.

Now Liria felt weird herself. Liria found the ground looked quite pretty right about that time and looked down.

The orange-haired woman coughed and Liria's attention was diverted towards her. She was quite thankful for her to break the awkward tension. 

"We're thankful we found you again, Liria." The orange-haired woman said, a soft smile gracing her features. 

Liria was surprised she remembered her name. That surprise quickly turned to guilt as she remembered that she had forgotten their names. She was never good with names.

"Ah, yeah...same here," Liria said. "What happened to you guys anyways after I led you to Cover Corps?"

Ths scythe wielder answered that question. "We...joined the group."

"Obviously, judging from the destruction you caused here." The orange-haired woman laughed at Liria's remarks. "And after you joined?"

"We weren't allowed to go out into public for a whole year and basically hid, while the higherups hacked into the ANTIs system and deleted as much info as they could that was about us." The scythe-wielder continued. "They said it might help them eventually forget about us."

"Forget? The ANTIs never forget though."

"That's what we thought, turns out most of the lower-ranking soldiers never knew what we looked like- most of our information was kept by the higherups." The scythe-wielder replied. "We don't know why the higher ranking ANTI officials kept all that information for themselves, but thank god it made the job easier."

"Well damn, yeah," Liria commented. She wondered how an idea like that even worked, deleting most of their info that is. Were the ANTIs dumber than she had originally thought? "You guys are fucking lucky that most of them don't even remember you, or don't even know what you look like. Does that you mean you guys can go out into public?"

The orange-haired woman hummed then gave a small nod. "Yep! but we have to be careful when we're out, try to look as normal as possible."

"We also have-"

"Don't mention that Calli!" The orange-haired woman interrupted, immediately running over to the scythe-wielder to cover her mouth. "It's a surprise!"

Liria felt puzzled by what the two were talking about, more surprises, she guessed. She sighed and decided to just ignore it. 

_Ah fuck, wait, I need to ask for their names again_. "Hey...um, what were your names-"

A noise interrupted Liria, a loud bang like thunder that was quick and was gone in a matter of milliseconds. Liria couldn't deny it, it was a gunshot, the ANTIs were coming. Liria immediately shut up just as the scythe-wielder summoned her scythe again from the shadows and the orange-haired summoned dancing flames on the palm of her hands. All awkwardness and cheerfulness from earlier had disappeared and was replaced by an eerie seriousness.

"Kiara, we need to go." The scythe-wielder calmly spoke, turning to look at her partner. She was back to her scary self, Liria noticed and was almost glad she did.

The orange-haired nodded and smiled at Liria. "I'm sorry we need to go, we've completed our mission here."

Liria nodded in understanding, she felt almost disappointed to see them leave. "I see."

"We'll see each other again, don't worry."

"Kiara, we need to leave." The scythe-wielder urged, hearing heavy shouts from nearby.

"Right, Calli do the honors, will you?" 

The scythe-wielder nodded and approached Liria- who in turn felt even more confused by what was going on. 

"Sorry about this," The scythe-wielder said before she waved her hand in one single motion, and a cloud of miasma and darkness appeared and clouded Liria's vision.

In an instant, Liria felt fatigue overwhelm her body. It felt so drugged and fake, but then it felt like her body developed a mind of its own and collapsed under the fatigue's influence. As she fought back the sleepiness, she heard multiple voices, all echoes in her mind, shouting and yelling. More attempts of struggling were met, but her persisting endeavor was useless, and she felt her eyelids becoming heavy as if it were made of metal, straining themselves to stay open. Another wave of dizziness and exhaustion crashed onto her like a truck.

In the end, Liria gave up, and she closed her eyes, her body slumping in the cold pavement, and letting the tranquility of sleep take her.

* * *

Liria woke up to the harsh sunlight bearing down on her, and the murmur of cars passing nearby. She sat up, and immediately regretted it when she felt a sudden pain course through her limbs. She fell face-first onto something soft as she lets her sense take in everything around her. The first thing she could recognize about her surroundings was that it was dirty, with random litter scattered everywhere- pizza boxes and glass- and the smell of garbage and piss that was so strong it made Liria's nose curl. The second thing was that she was laying on a mattress. The third thing was she didn't know how she got there. She quickly realized she was in an alleyway, and the noises of cars running were from a busy street right in front of her.

"Oh god, how did I even get here?" Liria groaned.

She didn't recognize the alleyway, which was strange as she thought she'd explored every bits and bobs of Shibuya. Was she even in Shibuya? 

Whatever, it didn't matter, she needed to get home, and eat. She remembered that egg sandwich that she left alone last night.

Liria stretched and let lazy strength soak into her limbs. She got up after stretching- almost falling again from numbness in her legs- and stumbled her way towards the busy street. As she placed one foot down into the footpath, she was immediately greeted by a full burst of harsher sunlight. She guessed she probably slept through till midday, judging from how strong the sunlight was. 

_Ah fuck, what time is it_. Liria patted the pocket of her hoodie to see if her phone was still there and wasn't stolen, and fortunately, it was left untouched.

She pulled it out and turned it on. She was greeted by the sight of the phone's default wallpaper, and even more notifications from the game she gave up playing. _I should really delete it, it's getting annoying_.

She looked at the time. 1:56 PM was written on the top middle section of the lock screen. Just as she had expected, she slept through the morning till it was midday. Her stomach grumbled as she put her phone away, and remembered that she was hungry and needed to get home.

 _Where the fuck am I even?_ Liria looked around her surroundings. The street in front of her was surprisingly heavy with traffic, considering it was midday and mostly everyone would be at work or school. 

Liria remembered school and groaned, realizing she probably missed another day. Was it even a weekday? She always forgot what day it is and it was starting to get irritating. With a sigh, she continued looking around. 

_Wait, I think I know this street_. Liria recognized a few billboards that were advertising about various things she really didn't care about, and then there was the new fast-food restaurant down the street to the left that just became popular even though it recently just opened. And the other end of the street would be, Hololive.

Liria didn't know much about it, other than the fact that they were hiring and that she had applied and was awaiting confirmation. She also knew that they were paying decent money for new employees, even without experience which sounded suspicious but she needed the money.

With a yawn, Liria turned to the left and began walking. In the middle of her quiet walk, her mind began recollecting memories from last night. The explosions, the curiosity that made her go to where the first explosion had struck, the two Mythoses she had encountered- whom she realized were the two Mythoses she saved in the past and had now become members of the revolutionary group, Cover Corps, and how she saw that cloud of dark mist being summoned that made her fall asleep. She wasn't sure if that was equivalent to being drugged.

And then she remembered how one of them had almost killed her and was willing to kill her. She remembered the scythe-wielder's crimson eyes, how cold that gaze was as if she was staring straight at an abyss. Even more strange, she remained rather calm, even when she felt the feeling of almost-death still resonating strongly within her. She gave a heavy sigh and tried to ignore it, for now. She was great at ignoring things.

Lost in her mulling thoughts, Liria didn't realize someone was walking towards her until she looked up and snapped back to reality. She quickly jerked to the right and dodged the person walking, who in turn sneered at the sight of her.

"Watch it, kid." They warned in a harsh tone before walking away. Liria took a good look at the person as their figure disappeared into the crowd of people. A woman heavily clad in body armor fitted for soldiers of ANTI, holding a semi-auto gun. She guessed the woman was patrolling the streets.

Liria moved to the side and looked around. There was a higher concentration of ANTI soldiers patrolling the streets, all of them holding guns of varying types. At the end of the street, towards the direction she was heading, she could she an ANTI terminal that was inspecting people and cars that went by, that she hadn't remembered to be there before. Liria could only guess the ANTIs were being extra cautious after the events of last night. 

She began walking again and tried to make herself look suspicious.

She decided to risk using a shortcut to get home rather than dealing with the terminal, they were so annoying to get through. She saw the alley she frequently used to get to her house quicker whenever she was at that street as it led directly to the street her hideaway was, and quickly turned to enter it.

The alleyway wasn't quite long and had nothing hindering the path, which was why Liria liked to use it as a shortcut. In a matter of minutes, she had already reached the street she intended to go to.

Traffic wasn't as busy as the other street before, and there were fewer soldiers from ANTI. She looked both ways and crossed the street, seeing as the cars had stopped and waited for the traffic light to turn blue. 

The abandoned building she lived in was on the other side of the street, she had to pass another alleyway nearby that had a cafe beside it. And behind that cafe would be the abandoned building.

"Oh! Hello there Liria!" She heard a cheerful voice from behind her as she turned to enter the alleyway beside the cafe.

Liria turned around and smiled when she saw who that voice belonged to. "Hey, Ms. Tokino!" She greeted with a small wave.

Liria knew Sora Tokino quite well, the kind 22-yr old's family owned a small, yet popular cafe that was built right in front of the abandoned building. The woman would occasionally give Liria food whenever there were still some leftovers from customers not buying many. She was also the reason why Liria had moved into the abandoned building, a good source of food, and the social interaction she had with her was a bonus.

Sora gave a small smile. "Come on now, you know you can call me Sora." 

Liria chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I mean, you're older than me," She responded. "Do you want me to add Senpai or something?"

"By this point, I'd rather have that than be called Ms. Tokino like I'm 30 or something."

"Okay, _Sora-senpai_." Liria teased.

Sora rolled her eyes. "Oh god, nevermind I take it back. Bring back Ms. Tokino."

They both went quiet and looked at each other. They snorted, then giggled, and immediately was sent into fits of laughter. 

"Oh alright, Sora-senpai," Liria said as she wiped a happy tear from her eye with a finger. "I'll do whatever you say."

Sora chuckled as she scratched the hair behind her left ear. "Oh man I am so tempted to punch you right now," Her eyes lit up suddenly. "Oh! That reminds me."

Sora ran into her cafe, the ding of the bell to be heard ringing as the door opened. A minute later, Sora came out holding a cardboard box. Liria's smile widened as she realized what the box contained.

"Here! Your weekly packaged food," Sora motioned for Liria to take the box, which the latter gratefully accepted. "I made sure dad would add your favorites."

Liria placed the box on the ground and opened it. Two jars of pickled papaya sat on the top, her favorite. She wanted to run over and hug Sora's dad and thank him multiple times. It took all her will to restrain herself.

"Nice right? We got a whole box of them imported directly from the Philippines," Sora said as Liria picked up the box again. "Dad wanted to try a new dish with it, but he kinda ordered too many."

"Oh, if there's too many I'll gladly eat the extra."

"Like, straight out of the jar?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Liria replied.

An amused sigh left Sora. "Anyways, I gotta get back to work, dad might get angry at me for being out too long." She approached Liria and gave her a small hug.

"Be careful, the ANTIs are much more agitated than usual, they're actually detaining random people that they assume were part of the explosions last night," Sora whispered in Liria's ear, her cheerfulness from earlier dissolving into a seriousness Liria never knew Sora could be capable of. "Stay out of their way, for now, they're more suspicious of the homeless and are more likely to arrest them, and I don't want you to get into a lot of trouble."

Sora pulled back and smiled, every bit of her seriousness instantly disappeared. "Well, see you later!"

"Oh um...see ya...?" Liria wondered what that was all about. "Tell your dad that I said hi for me, will ya'?"

"Will do!" Sora said before she smiled and went back to the cafe.

Liria felt a comforting feeling enter her body. It was always nice to interact with Sora, she was honestly the only person she could comfortably talk and joke around with. With a hop in her step, Liria walked into the alleyway beside the cafe. 

Liria eventually arrived in her hideaway, muscles sore and struggling to catch her breath. After Liria had blocked the entrance to the rest of the building from the rooftop bar to prevent rats from crawling in after a family of them moved in a year ago. Now the only way to get in or out of her hideaway was through the fire escape. It didn't sound difficult at first, but when she needed to carry heavy loads like Sora's box of weekly goods, that was where the problem started.

It took a while to carry the box to the hideaway, the fire escape was quite steep and she had to be careful to watch her step or else she would place her foot down on the wrong spot and trip. But she had managed, and now she had a whole box of food to provide her for a week.

Liria had a big smile on her face. She was excited to eat the pickled papaya Sora had gifted her. She placed the box down on a table and walked towards the generator. She flicked it on and the hideaway was immediately flooded with illuminance from the fairy lights around the hideaway.

"Ah fuck, fuck. I forgot to unplug them last night." Liria went over and unplugged the fairy lights from a socket nearby.

Afterward, she sat in front of her monitor and contemplated what to do- go into Youtube or study. Her time on the computer was quite limited as she didn't want to risk the rich guy- who's wifi she'd been 'borrowing'- to notice she'd been using his wifi, and had ruled herself to only use the monitor two hours a day. This meant she had to be careful and use her time wisely.

Then Liria's phone began ringing. It caught her by surprise that she almost fell backward on her chair as she clumsily pulled the phone out from her pocket. She checked the screen and saw that an unknown number was calling her. 

_Wait, is this the call the interviewer was talking about!?_ Liria took deep breaths to compose herself and pressed answer.

"Hello, Liria speaking." She answered, her voice almost wavering from nervousness. She felt nausea churning in her stomach.

"Ah! Liria good afternoon," Liria recognized the interviewer's voice. "It's A-Chan, how are you feeling?"

"Uhhh, good! Thanks for asking." Liria replied.

A-Chan laughed. "That's great! I've called you right now for some good news!"

Liria's heart started racing. "Y-Yes...?"

"You've been hired!" A-Chan announced. "The Boss seemed alright with your clarification, y'know, straight A's in school and such."

"Uh-huh...he didn't care about the no experience bit?"

"Not really, he's been desperate for some employees for a while now and saw that you might have some promise," Liria heard another voice join them, too muffled that Liria couldn't hear quite clearly what they were saying. "Okay. Yeah, I'll tell her- anyway, he asked me to tell you to come over right now so we can have a quick orientation and fit you in your uniform."

"Now!?" Liria exclaimed. 

"Yep!" A-Chan answered as if she'd expected Liria's reaction. "Sorry, we usually have our new employees go through orientation as soon as possible, don't worry it'll be quick."

"I...um, yeah okay sure," Liria hesitantly said. "I'll come over right now."

"Great! Just come on down to the office and one of our older employees will meet you," A-Chan informed. "Okay, I'll see you later, Liria, and welcome to the team!" She then hung up.

Liria took a deep breath, her heart was racing. Honestly right about now she should just drop dead right now from the news. She couldn't believe it, she actually got in! 

Liria felt a warm, tingling feeling envelop her chest, a calm sensation she'd experience, once in another life. She remembered this feeling, though it'd been a while, she could never forget it. It was like a tender hug from a loved one after a hard day of work.

Yes, this warm, and tender feeling of success.

\----

Liria had hurried down to the Hololive offices as quickly as her legs could carry her. It wasn't really hard to find. The building was quite colorful, and the large glass panes had pictures of anime girls stuck to them. The building itself was tall as well, taller than the other buildings in the street it was built in.

She entered the lobby and took in the sight. The lobby was very spacious and clean, walls painted a light blue, and there were posters of the same anime girls on the glass panes that were tapered in symmetrical rows in the back wall behind the main desk. To her left, there was a waiting area that consisted of comfortable-looking chairs, bean bags, and a tv showcasing the news.

"-An explosion struck the heart of Shibuya last night..." Of course, the news would be talking about the explosion from last night. Speaking about the explosion, she wondered if the two Mythoses were alright and safe. "It's been speculated that Cover Corps may be the cause of last night's chaos, seeing as the very center of Shibuya lies one of the biggest ANTI headquarters..."

Liria's attention was caught by the noise of heels tapping on the vinyl floor from behind her. She turned around and met with a _very_ tired-looking woman who wore glasses and was just taller than Liria, hair completely black with some red streaks as the only coloration tied into a long ponytail. 

"Hey," The woman greeted in a tired tone as if she hadn't had much sleep for the past week. "My name's Enma and I'll be your guide today...Liria right?"

Liria nodded, and the woman known as Enma looked quite happy at her response.

"Oh thank god, anyways," Enma motioned towards a set of double in the back.

"Welcome, we've been expecting you."

* * *

**「Next time」**

"...They're virtual idols."  
"Excuse me...what?"

"You'll be, an assistant manager, and you'll be managing..."

"Holy shit, I can't believe you're a fucking idol"

"Join us, Liria"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the second chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if the ending was kinda rushed, I tend to do that when I don't know what else to write.
> 
> Lastly, I'd like to ask for some constructive criticism on the story, grammar or anything as a whole if you guys don't mind. English isn't my first language and was worried if it sounds horrendous. Thanks again!


	3. 3//Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' [Part 1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calli wakes up in a post-massacre morning and Liria has a job orientation to do. Y'know the simple things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to warn people that I have no planning on stuff what so ever and wing everything I do.

Creamy rays of sunlight seep in from a small space on the curtain; the only source of light that lit the dim room. The cheerful chirps of morning birds, soft murmurs of cars passing by, and the occasional 'good mornings' from neighbors were the only noises you could discern. It was the start of a new day.

Calliope Mori woke up to her phone buzzing on the bed beside her. It had been buzzing for quite a while now but she'd ignored it and prayed whoever was trying to get a hold of her would just stop and she could go back to sleep, go back and enjoy a moment of ecstasy. It took Calli a moment to adjust her vision to the cruel sunlight and waited for the fuzziness of her dreamless sleep to wear off. She looked around her surroundings with heavy eyes. It took Calli a while to recognize the slatted blinds and the messy writing desk nearby- she was in her room in Cover Corp's main base. 

Her room was furnished in a likely scanty budget, but despite that, it was rather warm and welcoming, with a kind of tranquil aura that it gives off- if you could just look past the mess. There were clothes thrown about, and miscellaneous items just strewn about that Calli hadn't been bothered to clean up. It looked like a bomb exploded in the middle of her room and threw everything around.

Calli tried to lift herself up, but a sudden pain struck her head and her muscles and with a gasp, she immediately collapsed into the soft comfort of her bed. Great, she woke up, and already her body was in pain. Four hours of sleep really does many 'wonders' to one's body.

With a groan, Calli lifted her upper body again - succeeding in doing so, desperately ignoring the pain that clawed her body- and sat straight up, rubbing the sleepiness from her eye. She heard a sputtering from beside her and turned to look. Sitting by her bedside was Kiara, snoring away by Calli's side, a slick of drool trickling down from the corner of her mouth. A soft smile graced Calli's features as she reached over and ran her hand through Kiara's orange hair. The latter already had her own room, but whenever the two had completed their mission for the day and would retreat back to their rooms to rest, Kiara always insisted on accompanying Calli to her room.

Calli always appreciated it, although she did get annoyed and sometimes frustrated by Kiara's antics and bold proclamation of love. She could never voice her appreciation, it was difficult for her to express any other emotion other than anger, and when she did try, she always sounded so unsure of herself that it just came out awkward. And so Calli could only rely on rare moments like this to 'show' her appreciation, even if the one receiving it would never know about it.

Kiara mumbled in her sleep- Probably something about Calli again- and sank deeper into her folded arms. She sounded happy in her sleep. 

Calli slowly got out of her bed, careful to not wake Kiara up from her happy dreams, and stretched to let loose the tension in her body. She threw on a pink hoodie to protect herself from the morning cold and walked over to her writing desk, where her phone was placed still angrily buzzing for her attention.

Calli checked her phone and almost guffawed when she noticed most of the buzzing was coming from Enma desperately trying to call her for the past 15 minutes. There were also some text messages from the latter as well, all horribly transcripted through autocorrect that Calli couldn't help but laugh.

10:28>MY trucking GOD WHY DOES IT   
TAKE YOU YEARS TO GET UP

10:29> yOU trucker HURRY UP AND COME  
DOWN HERE, WE HAVE 3 NEW EMPLOYEES  
JOINING US TODAY.

Oh f-word I forgot about it, lol <10:37

Calli stifled another laugh. She went over to her curtains, pulling them apart and letting the warm light flow in the darkness. She quickly opened the window, taking a momentous whiff of the morning air, listening to an orchestra of chirps from nearby birds as they sang their morning song.

Calli always loved to hear their song whenever she woke up, it gave her a massive boost of energy just to listen to it. It was like nature's radio. As she listened quietly to the birds' song, her phone made another buzz as a notification popped out.

Another text message from Enma.

10:28>MY trucking GOD WHY DOES IT  
TAKE YOU YEARS TO GET UP

10:29> yOU trucker HURRY UP AND COME  
DOWN HERE, WE HAVE A NEW EMPLOYEE  
JOINING US TODAY.

Oh f-word I forgot about it lol <10:37

10:42> now that you're awake, hurry up   
and get ready, A-chan's calling them in  
3 hours

3 hours???? Can I get another hour <10:44  
of sleep then??

10:45> nOOOOOO!

Calli wasn't surprised, it was to be expected, Enma always liked to be early about schedules and whatnot. Poor woman needed to take a break.

With a yawn, Calli crept over to her door and reached for the doorknob. She opened the door and looked outside. The halls were lit by rays of lights seeping through a few uncurtained windows. The stench of medicine and blood hung heavily in the air, the revolting mix made Calli's nose curl and almost made her vomit. God, why hasn't anyone thought of fixing the smell around here, it was disgusting. It was more like a hospital really, rather than a 'secret' base, and the fact that the halls were painted in white just hammered that image in.

It was surprisingly quiet around that time of day, usually there would be many members of Cover Corps traveling through this area to get to the main area of the building. She'd expected to hear the occasional chatter and conversations, but there was nothing. The silence was deafening.

But then she remembered why. Calli's eyes darted to the right, towards the end of the corridor. A set of double doors sat there, shut closed, the stench of medicine and blood was emanating strongly from beyond it. She looked closer and noticed a figure sitting quietly on a row of seats placed right beside the doors. Their head was hung low in shame and Calli couldn't see what their face looked like. But from the situation, she could already guess who the figure was.

Calli walked towards them quietly. She got a better look at the figure. They were small, small enough that their feet just barely touched the ground as they sat on the chair. They had blue and white hair tied into two large braids that went past their shoulder and almost reached their waist, two carrots inserted through gaps in the braid. A pair of fluffy, white bunny ears sat on top of the figure's head, twitching with every hiccup and gasp the figure made as they cried.

"Hey, Pekora-senpai," Calli greeted as she took a seat beside the figure known as Pekora. "How are you doing?"

Pekora didn't answer, her head still hanging low in an attempt to hide her tears. Calli smiled sadly, she guessed Pekora still felt bad about...what happened. She turned towards the double doors. It was the kind of metal doors that opened in any direction, like the ones in an emergency room of a hospital, it made it easier to cart injured Cover Corps members towards the room beyond whenever they were close to death.

Her eyes traveled towards a paper sign placed beside the door, the word 'Moona' was written in katakana, scrawled in with a whiteboard pen.

Calli remembered the mission that caused the poor girl to end up in an emergency room in a critical state. Two months ago, Cover Corps had received intel that the ANTIs had built a weapon with such high destructive capabilities and state of the art weaponry that it was said to be enough to solve the 'Mythos' problem. They became desperate to destroy such monstrosity before it was unveiled to the public and used to hunt down the Mythoses and Cover Corps itself. 

Calli didn't know exactly what happened after that, she wasn't placed in that mission, but she remembered the panic the building was thrown into as soon as the group that was sent into the mission came back, all bloody and bruised, the flame of excitement in their eyes she had seen earlier, gone and extinguished. Everything happened so quickly that it became a blur. But she could not forget the horror that crawled up her spine when she saw the state Moona was in. She was rushed in on a gurney, her body so badly broken and beaten that Calli could barely feel a sense of life from within her. The poor girl was hanging onto life by a slither from death's jaws. 

She could also remember the state Pekora was in when they wheeled the gurney in. She ran beside the gurney as medics tried their best to save Moona, screamingly frantically for Moona to wake up, salty tears running down her cheeks like a waterfall. She'd ignored the fact that she too, was injured- her left arm broken and bloody. She still wore a cast for it to mend properly, but Calli knew that to Pekora, it felt like a grim reminder of her failure rather than something to help her broken arm heal.

Pekora refused to talk about what happened, and whenever anyone asked, the girl would withdraw to sullen silence. 

Calli didn't know what to say. The two were quite close despite the language barrier between them. It was almost like they were lovers really. Calli had considered ending Moona's life from time to time, to free her from the pain. However, Pekora could never forgive her.

They sat there together in silence- or more like as silent as they could for Pekora's case. No words were exchanged as it wasn't needed, the silence was enough.

Several minutes had passed before Calliope stood from her seat and placed a comforting hand onto Pekora's shaking shoulder. She had to leave and go to Enma, she'd almost forgotten about the woman.

"Sorry, Pekora'senpai," Calli said. "I have to go now."

Before Calli could take a single step, Pekora suddenly grabbed her by the sleeves of her hoodie and looked up. Her eyes- bloodshot from hours and hours of crying- stared right towards Calli's crimson eyes, it almost felt like those eyes bore straight to her soul. 

"What's wrong?" Calli asked, puzzled by Pekora's sudden action. "Do you need something...?"

Pekora began acting strangely, she was fidgeting and looked almost hesitant to answer Calli's question. Calli thought she looked rather uncomfortable. The rabbit girl took a deep breath- maybe to calm the nerves- and Calli prepared herself to be struck with a hard question.

"Is she going to die?" Pekora asked.

Calli remained silent as they stared at each other. Despite Pekora having mentioned no one's name, she could immediately guess just who she was referring to.

Calli didn't know what to say. She'd heard this type of question many times before, from different times, from different places, and from different people. She could never find a definitive answer, the concept of death was an interesting topic.

Calli's lips quirk up to a sad smile and she looked away. "I don't know." 

It was a lie- mostly. Moona was in a state where Calli was unsure of the outcome, she could feel Moona's life slowly leaving her body, like a crack had appeared in a glass cup and the water was leaking out, but then it would stop and Moona's life force would quickly grow again. It had been like this for the past month now, she was stuck in a cycle of dying and living that even Calli was confused about what to do. Only Moona's own strength could save her from the cycle now.

Pekora looked down again and gave a shaky sigh. "I...I see." She said as she tried to maintain her composure and forced herself not to shed more tears. "Well...then I'll...see you later."

"I'll see you later." Calli replied with a small wave.

She turned around and left Pekora to her own devices. Perhaps it was better to leave her alone for now, Calli being there was probably going to make things worst, she didn't even know how to comfort people. 

Centuries of living and Calli was still quite horrible at social interaction, much less giving comfort. The concept of grieving was never a topic Calli could understand, mortal beings led such short lives so what was the point in wasting time grieving? 

_Because, life is short and we humans have to treasure every single bit of it_. A voice said in Calli's head. It would occasionally speak whenever Calli pondered about the short lives of mortals. The voice always sounded familiar. She'd probably knew the person the voice had belonged to, in another lifetime centuries ago.

Calli took a breath and exhaled as she brushed the feeling of familiarity off. No point trying to reminiscing about something she doesn't even know.

As the reaper trudged her way through the white halls, her mind wandered to the events of last night. Calli hoped Liria was alright. She was happy to have found her after all this time, she and Kiara never really got the chance to thank her seeing as they had hide from the public for a whole year. She remembered that she had to knock her out and carry her out of the area before the ANTIs got there, and placed her at a random alleyway away from the epicenter of the chaos to make it look like she hadn't been there in the first place. The sleep spell she had used lasted for quite a while, and it would be a few hours more than the present time until Liria would wake up from her sleep. She hoped Liria wouldn't be too angry at her for doing that.

Then Calil's mind flashed right back to the first moments of their 'reunion', how the girl looked up at her with those eyes filled with an eerie acceptance as she raised her scythe that even it scared the reaper. But it was Calli herself that shook her to the very core. She remembered her own blood lust filling her brain- It was like a drug and it made Calli lose her mind in ecstasy. She almost had no control over her actions that night, and because of her lack of self-control, she had almost killed the very person who saved her and Kiara two years ago. 

The thought of doing so terrified Calli. 

She hated killing people, reaping souls only came when they were sure to die, but the people she killed for the past two years weren't ready to die. However, what choice did she have when so many people were willing to kill her? It had become a kill or be killed world by this point.

Calli's phone buzzed again and snapped her from her thoughts. She didn't want to think more about it.

Enma was calling her, perhaps she was getting impatient. Calli answered her call and brought her phone to her ear.

"Hey Enma, what's up?" She greeted carefully.

"Where the hell are you right now?" Enma's voice could be heard from the other line, mixed with various noises Calli couldn't really recognize. "We need to prepare for the new employees' orientation, we need to clean up the office and get some snacks and refreshments, and-"

"Ok, Ok, Enma chill," Calli interrupted. "Please calm down, you're overworking yourself."

"Okay, okay just..." Enma took a deep breath. "Where are you right now?"

"Still on the 4th floor, I'll get myself ready and come down."

"Still on the 4th floor? What were you doing?"

"Talking to Pekora," Calli answered, slowing down in her walk as she noticed the elevator nearby and went towards it. "Well, not really talking. It was more like me sitting in silence while she cried."

Enma didn't say something. All Calli could hear was the click of fingers tapping on a keyboard and the background noise she kept hearing from Enma's side. Calli could tell Enma didn't know what to say about the topic.

"Is...is she alright...?" Enma asked hesitantly. 

"I don't really know, she's still grieving."

"And Moona?"

It was Calli's turn to go silent. She didn't know what to say, Moona was on the brink of death? Moona was recovering? Neither answer was the best to describe the state Moona was in. Calli gave a heavy sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

"I really don't know either," Calli finally answered. "Her life force is quite faint, but for some reason, it keeps decreasing and increasing in various random intervals."

"Meaning...?"

"Moona's dying, but she's also recovering?" Calli arrived in front of the elevator and pressed the button to call for it. "I'm not too sure, I have to go and ask Sensei about this."

"Well...alright, then I guess just hurry up and get ready, it's already 11:09."

The elevator opens with a ding and Calli heads inside. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a low rasping noise like metal scraping against each other. She hoped the elevator doesn't break down and stop working like numerous times before. They really need to fix the elevator before the cables would snap and potentially cause someone's death.

"Okay, so what are we working on?" Calli asked. Her fingers brushed against the elevator buttons, eventually landing on one with the number 3 written on it.

"We need to clean up the office, it's a complete mess, I don't what the 2nd Gen were doing but christ," Calli laughed, Enma complaining was slightly humorous with her tired tone. "We also need some refreshments and snacks for them in case they get hungry, so I'm delegating you the task of cleaning up the office while I go out and buy some stuff."

Calli winched. "Are you serious? Can't I buy the food instead?"

"Calliope, you just came back from a mission last night, the ANTIs are getting more aggressive by each day and now they're practically everywhere."

"As if there weren't cameras everywhere in the first place" Calli muttered.

Enma sighed. "You know the rules Calli, everyone who has just finished a mission has to lay low for a while."

"I know that, it's just..." Calli doesn't finish her sentence. "Nevermind, I'll clean up the office."

"Thank you, Calli," Enma said. "I've set up some cleaning products you might need, you can find them near the entrance to the office."

"huh, thanks. I'll get ready and hurry on over there."

"Oh! I also forgot to mention," Calli heard a bit of rustling from Enma's end, possibly from the clutter on her office desk. "Gura's gonna help you, she's itching to help for while now."

"Oh, Gura!" Calli lit up. "thank god I'm getting help for this."

"Mhm, she'll meet you at the EN office at around 12:00 PM, anyways I gotta go, I'll meet you and Gura at around 1:00 PM."

"Alright, see you later then," Calli said as she pressed the elevator button. "Take care."

"You too." Enma replied before she hung up and left Calli to listen to a monotonous beeping, signaling the call had ended. She put her phone away and looked up.

The elevator doors slowly shut with a ding, and slowly carried Calli to the 3rd floor.

But just as the doors completely shut, heavy coughs suddenly heaved Calli's body. She covered her mouth with a hand as she tried to suppress it, and instead something slick and wet touches her palm.

She guessed it was spit but as she retracted her hand from her hand and looked down.

The palm of her hands was covered with blood

____

Calli arrived at the 8th floor at exactly 12:00 PM, not a minute too late or early for her to meet up with Gura, dressed in her usual reaper outfit. The elevator makes a small ding as the doors slowly open with a loud scraping noise, like rusty gears moving against one another. She stepped out, and the elevator's doors closed behind her, making that same irritating noise that Calli hated.

After the new employees' orientation, she reminded herself to make a formal complaint to Enma about the elevator.

She was thankful the cafeteria and bathrooms on the 2nd floor would be mostly empty at that time of the day, she could get everything done faster and get herself refreshed and ready to start the day. Kiara had joined her for breakfast and provided some company while Calli tenderly ate her English breakfast. Of course, Kiara being there meant Calli would be bombarded with Kiara's usual antics- the declarations of love, the random topics about the current world Calli didn't really understand, and so on. And as usual, Calli would get irritated, vexed even, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was thankful Kiara was always there, willing to talk and socialize with her.

Calli smiled, a warm feeling enveloped her chest as she thought of Kiara and her warmth, her tender kindness akin to a mother hen. She laughed to herself as she imagined Kiara as a chicken, the latter would always complain about Calli calling her a chicken or a shitty bird, but Calli knew that she didn't really mind, more like she lavished in the attention.

She shook that unfamiliar feeling away, flustered and confused about why that feeling would appear when she thought of Kiara. 

_Oh fuck, Calli get a grip on yourself, you still have a job to do_. Calli repeated in her head, like her own personal mantra.

It was best to ignore it for now, until Calli could understand what it was, just like how she would continue to ignore the coughing from earlier.

The floor Calli stepped into was busier than the other floors she had visited, it was filled with chatter and laughter from various people walking by, and the electronic hum of computers working from office cubicles. There were only a handful of people that inhabited the 8th floor, but it was more than on the other floors. She'd recognize a few of them, the ones she could were humans who were pro-Mythos and joined Cover Corps to fight back against the oppression of the ANTIs.

Calli wasn't too surprised that people would occupy the 8th floor at tall times, it was where the main office was situated at. The entire floor was filled with office cubicles, lined up in symmetrical rows, in the left there was a mini kitchen in case anyone got hungry and couldn't be bothered going to the cafeteria on the 2nd floor, and towards the back was a giant meeting room where many of the Cover Corps members would gather and discuss strategies and missions that needed to be delegated amongst them. It seemed like a normal office if you just ignore the fact most of the people who worked there were part of a revolutionary group.

Calli started walking. Familiar faces looked up from whatever they were doing and gave her a friendly wave as a greeting as she walked past, and she would greet back with a small wave and her usual awkward smile.

Calli looked around for Gura, and instead caught a glimpse of a figure with blonde hair dressed entirely in a creamy, detective's outfit, interacting with a fluffy, white dog wearing a detective's cap not too far away. Calli's eyes lit up as she recognized who the figure was and walked towards them.

"Hey Watson," She greeted casually. "How are you?"

Amelia Watson stopped playing with the dog and looked up as soon as she heard Calli's voice, cerulean eyes meeting with crimson ones. 

"Oh! Calli it's nice to see you," Amelia greeted back, her mouth quirking up to a small smile. "I'm quite alright thank you, how about you?"

Calli smiled back. "Great, thanks," She looked down at the dog Amelia was playing with earlier, whining for the latter's attention. "I see Bubba's the same as usual."

Soft laughter comes out of Amelia's mouth. She had such a recognizable and contagious laughter that Calli couldn't help but laugh a little along with her. 

"He's been getting needy, aren't you, boy?" Amelia cooed, lowering her head towards Bubba. His tail was wagging expectantly as he hopped and tried to lick Amelia's face. Amelia grinned and bent down and gathered the fluffy white dog in her arms.

"Aww, you're so cute," Amelia said as she rubbed her cheeks against Bubba's fur. "And goddamn annoying sometimes." Bubba barked in reply.

Calli gave an awkward cough. "Yeah...uh, have you seen Gura?"

"Oh yeah, she's waiting in the meeting room," Amelia answered, gazing up at Calli. "She's got some cleaning supplies, are you guys doing something?"

"Yeah, Enma told me to clean up the office and Gura wanted to help," Calli said. "We're getting three new employees and today's their orientation."

"Oh yeah! I heard about that, Enma was panicking so much earlier. It was kinda funny."

Calli sighed. "Not surprised, she really needs to take it back before she collapses."

"Do the new employees know about- _y'know,_ " Amelia's freehand- the one not furiously rubbing Bubba's fur- gestured to everything surrounding them. "This being Cover Corps."

Calli hadn't thought of that possibility. Mostly everyone who joined the group were humans who already knew that the gigantic, colorful building in the middle of Shibuya was Cover Corp's main base through private forums in the deep web and such, or fellow Mythoses wishing to fight against their oppressors. But lately, they'd been desperate for some new members after a mission gone wrong left several killed or MIA, desperate enough that now they were just plucking whoever just had a small interest in 'Hololive', whether they knew or not that it was a cover-up for Cover Corps.

Calli hoped that this wouldn't put Cover Corps at risk of being discovered by the ANTIs, no one could be really trusted these days. 

"Not sure, I just hope nothing goes wrong when they join us." Calli replied.

Amelia hummed in response and went back to playing with Bubba. "I hope so too. Anyways, you should hurry along and go to Gura, you know how impatient that girl can get."

Calli chuckled. "I know, I know. I'll see you later okay?"

"Yeah, see ya later," Amelia said. "Could you also tell Gura I said hi?"

"Will do."

Calli left Amelia to her own devices and continued towards the back where the meeting room was. She approached the massive glass doors, clouded and blurry so people from the outside wouldn't be able to take a peek at whatever they were planning from the outside. Her hand grasped the handle and slid the door open.

The meeting room looked simple and basic. Clean white walls and vinyl flooring, a giant oval table placed in the middle, and a projector at the furthest end of the room. A potted plant placed by the door was the only color in the room.

Calli spotted a figure sitting on the furthest end of the table- right in front of the projector. The figure was quite small- their feet didn't even touch the floor and were left to waddle in the air- and wore a blue, tattered shark-themed hoodie, the hood covering their short, white hair. A shark tail extended from behind the figure, waving eagerly. Calli immediately knew who it was.

"Whattup, Gura!" Calli greeted. Gura quickly turned around upon hearing Calli's voice. Her ocean-blue eyes lit up with excitement and she hopped down from her spot and ran over to Calli.

"Calli!" Gura exclaimed as the two hugged like old buddies that hadn't seen each other for a long time. "It's good to see ya again!"

Calli smiled, Gura was just a tiny ball of happiness and it was impossible to smile at her frolics. "It's good to see you again, how are you?"

Gura flashed her famous, toothy grin. "Pretty awesome! I've been cooped up in my room ever since my last mission and finally got something fun to do."

"You think cleaning is fun?"

"Not really! But it's kinda fun when you're doing it with someone, yeah?"

Calli's mouth quirk up to a broader smile. God, it was just hard to not smile over the shark girl's positivity despite the harsh world they were living in. It was just contagious by this point.

"I guess so," Calli replied as Gura ran back to the end of the table where she sat. She grinned again. She picked up a mop from the ground and raised it over her head with both hands.

"Well, come on!" She cried. "Let's get to work!"

* * *

Liria pretended to understand what Enma was talking about but in truth, the words that came out from the latter's mouth sounded more like a foreign language, or some eldritch speak from a Lovecraftian book. The older woman had told Liria about what they did in Hololive, and my god she wished should have read the pamphlet before she applied because _what the fuck were virtual idols?_

The embarrassment was still prickling in her body after the reaction she gave when Enma first told her about virtual idols, and she desperately wished she could go back in time and strangle her past self for looking so stupid. 

" _You see, this company is quite special, you know about idols and Youtubers, right?_ " Enma had asked her.

" _I know about Youtubers, but not so much about idols,_ " Liria would reply. " _Why?_ "

Enma had smiled and said. " _Our talents here, they're what you call 'Virtual idols_ '"

" _...Excuse me what?_ "

Enma explained everything to her. She knew Hololive was a talent agency for idols, but what she didn't know, was that Hololive was a talent agency for online entertainers that use digital avatars using computer-generated graphics, and they would stream themselves playing video games and perform for crowds of fans, occasionally. Virtual idols was what they were called, and it was Liria's first time hearing that term. She finally understood why there were pictures of anime girls just planted on their windows.

Liria remembered the fish-out-of-water look she gave after Enma had explained, it made her scream and curse at herself every time she vividly pictured that expression. 

She gave a heavy sigh. She was never going to recover mentally from that 'incident'. Liria kept herself quiet as Enma guided her through a gigantic office room, the typical one you would find with office cubicles all lined up in tidy, symmetrical rows. Posters of the virtual Idols Enma mentioned were plastered neatly on the snowy-white walls. Liria guessed they were just really supportive of them, which was a nice feeling to think about.

The orientation had been quite relaxing, most of it was spent walking around each of the building's 12 floors and touring every nook and cranny the building had offered. Liria's favorite was this room on the 7th floor that was used for live streaming 3D streams, it was filled with a lot of technology Liria had never heard of, but she was curious enough to want to try and have a go with using it.

It was almost the end of the orientation, and the two were heading towards a meeting room situated at the back of the office room. Liria had wondered what was going to happen there, she knew that there were two other people that had been accepted by Hololive and had just gone through orientation at the same time as her, but then what comes next?

She guessed they were going to go through some rules and how to properly follow them, just normal office stuff. However, there was an inescapable feeling in her chest that told her that there was something more than just them telling the three new employees 'here are the rules, don't break them!'.

Liria had brushed it off as simply nervousness and excitement that was churning in her guts, after all, she was to get her first job, why wouldn't she be excited?

"Sorry about earlier, maybe we should have put more information in our pamphlets and flyers to avoid confusion," Enma said, sounded almost apologetic if it wasn't for her tired tone. "Our Advertisement Department has been lacking lately."

"It's very much fine!" Liria sheepishly answered. "I guess I'm just not cultured enough for not knowing what VTubers are."

Enma chuckled. "I know what you mean, most of the employees here didn't even know about Vtubers until they joined Hololive."

"Really? That's surprising."

"You know how it is, ANTIs limiting internet usage has been giving us a rough time at getting some engagement, I wasn't really surprised when you said you've never heard of VTubers."

"I guess that is a big problem."

Enma didn't say a word and just hummed in response.

The conversation stopped as soon as they arrived in front of a giant, sliding glass door. The glass they used was cloudy, so Liria couldn't really see inside. But she could barely make out the silhouettes of two figures in the room.

Liria guessed it was probably the two other newbies that were going to join the company along with her and didn't think much of it.

"I almost forgot to mention, I'll be handing you a role right now so you can get into your job immediately," Enma said as she grasped the door handles.

"Wait already?" Liria replied, puzzled. "Do I start today or...?"

"Oh no, you'll start in two days, gives you time to bond with the talent you'll be managing."

Liria felt more confused by the minute. Enma was just a puzzling woman, Liria found it difficult to read her expressions the entire orientation, much less decipher the cryptic words she used. _Bond with a talent? What the hell does she mean?_

"What do you mean...?" Liria voiced her confusion.

"Yeah, okay so I'll say this as simply as possible," Enma said. "You're going to be an assistant manager-"

"Wait, wait...WHAT!?" Liria exclaimed. "That's far too soon, just give me a simpler role, Enma-"

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds, you'll just be helping me managing the group of _troublesome"_ \- Enma emphasizes on the word troublesome- " talents that I manage, it means you get to kinda boss around of them," Enma said as if that was a clear enough answer for Liria's confusion. "Since you'll be an assistant manager, you'll be managing..."

"Enma, wait, please just give me a simple job, like janitor or something, I'll be fine with that!" Liria's pleading fell on deaf ears.

Enma slid the door open as she continued to ignore Liria's begging, and practically pushed the girl in as they entered the meeting room. The latter was too distracted pleading for Enma to give her a job meant for a newbie than one that was already shifting quite a bit of responsibilities onto her, that she had noticed the two figures she noticed as silhouettes earlier cautiously approaching them.

"Liria...?" A familiar voice rang out and diverted Liria's attention from Enma to one of the figures she finally noticed.

"Huh?" She turned around and met with those haunting crimson eyes from last night who's piercing effect still lingered within Liria.

The scythe-wielding woman from last night looked at Liria with as much confusion and befuddlement as Liria had about this whole situation. She probably hadn't expected to see Liria be suddenly there the day after she almost killed her. 

Liria didn't expect to see the scythe-wielding woman as well, out in broad daylight wearing the same outfit as last night as if she was trying to stand out when she was supposed to be in _hiding_.

"Do you two know each other?" Enma suddenly said, snapping Liria's attention back to her. "You guys look like you recognize the other."

"it's the girl who saved me two years ago-"

"It's the woman that almost killed me last night-" The two said at the same time.

This prompted some boisterous laughter from the other figure Liria had yet to notice. Liria looked to the scythe-wielding woman's side and scanned the laughing figure. 

They were quite short and just managed to grow past the scythe-wielding woman's waist. They had white hair, almost colored like sea foam, and eyes as bright and blue as the summer skies. They wore shark-themed clothing- which was oddly cute- and the sharpest fucking teeth Liria had ever seen. The latter's eyes glanced down and almost immediately widened as she noticed a shark's tail swishing behind the figure like a happy dog waving its tail. 

"Ohoho man, this is just a funny coincidence," The figure chuckled, wiping a tear from their eye. "I bet Calli didn't expect this to happen!"

Enma muttered something to herself as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Ah for fuck's sake, this is going to be so awkward for the both of you because-"

Enma pointed to Liria. "You're going to be the manager of-" She then pointed to the scythe-wielding woman. "This idiot, Mori Calliope."

"Wait what-" 

"Liria, are you alright?" Enma asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine I'm just trying to understand everything," Liria responded. "I'm not dumb if you're asking, just a bit slow sometimes."

"Do you have any questions?" 

Liria had plenty of questions of course, why did she suddenly become the assistant manager when she had no experience? What did Enma mean when she said Liria was going to be the manager of the scythe-wielding woman was last night? And why were two Mythoses- one she knew was a member of Cover Corps, and the other she wasn't sure of- out in broad daylight, when there soldiers right outside the building that were hunting them down?

Unless-

No, it couldn't be, It's impossible. This building wouldn't be one of Cover Corps' bases.

But Enma didn't sound hostile when they met up with the two Mythoses. And she seemed to know them pretty well. She'd heard that the only people who were pretty much friendly to Mythoses were members of Cover Corps.

Oh, fuck.

This was all too much for poor Liria. Her brain felt like it was going to short circuit from the utter confusion weighing on her, almost felt like it was close to shutting down. She felt faint, and almost collapsed to her feet as she came to understand the situation she was placed in.

God, she couldn't even hear her own thoughts anymore over the deafening sound of her heartbeats.

With a shaking finger, Liria pointed at the scythe-wielding woman. "Holy shit...I can't believe it, you're a fucking idol."

Enma snorted. "Is that the most surprising thing you noticed?"

" _Nah_ ," Liria replied, and forced out a chuckle. "But I just don't think this is real right now, there's just no way-"

"But you do know what we are right?"

Liria looked back at Enma with a hard to read expression, and forced herself to relax- a difficult task as her nerves were shot and a heavy feeling of dread was still weighing down on her.

"You're Cover Corps, aren't you?" Liria didn't hesitate to answer, no point trying to be careful now.

"Bingo!" Enma turned intensely serious- it wasn't really obvious and the latter was rather good at suppressing and hiding it, but Liria could still just notice the sudden change of Enma's character. The older woman gave a smile, one that looked friendly but didn't quite reach the eyes.

"You're right, and now I welcome you to the last part of the orientation." The two Mythoses from behind her take a step closer and prevented Liria from moving back.

Enma extended a hand towards Liria, as if she wanted to hold it, and said,

"Join us, Liria"

* * *

**「Next time」**

"...No."

"We have no choice anymore."

"What is she doing here...WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE!?"

"It seems like it has begun."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello yes, thanks for reading the third chapter of Lets Set This World on Fire!  
> This would have almost sounded like Twilight in the end, had I not looked back and realized it sounded like Twilight.  
> This chapter was kinda rushed I apologize because It's a midpoint between Liria not joining the group and Liria maybe refusing to join or actually joins the group, the middle of important parts is weird lol.
> 
> Liria's character is also quite confusing, I'm sorry. I try to make her sound like a real 16-year old , but by this point her personality is quite conflicting
> 
> Anyways, have a good day or night!


	4. 4// Wanna be Startin' Somethin' [Part 2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liria is given two choices, both seemingly fucking terrible to be honest, and Amelia remembers the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have much to say right now, but this chapter is kinda rushed and I apologize ^^

"Join us, Liria."

Liria wanted to cry. Not because she was sad or anything, but the confusion that set in from this whole situation was beginning to take a toll on her. Her eyes were burning from salty tears that she refused to shed as she forced herself to remain in her stiff composure. She'd be trembling if she let herself relax. But that was her secret when she was put through a situation just like this: Never let your guard down and never show them weakness, and then maybe they'd let you go.

But just from the looks of it, there was no way Liria would get out of this easily, no amount of bargaining or secrets was going to help her now. 

_Come on, Liria_. The girl urged at herself. _Don't cry...don't cry_.

Liria looked around and scanned the room to see if she could find a way to get out. The room was practically barren, save for the giant oval table in the middle, surrounded by chairs, a projector up the front, and a single potted plant of a species unknown to Liria placed just by the door. There were giant window panes at the side that Liria could use to get outside. But bursting out from it was practically suicide, they were eight stories up, and Liria was sure there was nothing at the ground that was going to save her from her fall.

No point looking around for any options for escape, Liria was trapped. She risked looking back at Enma.

Enma had been strangely quiet at this ordeal and just continued to smile at Liria with her hand stretched out for the latter to take it. Liria guessed she was probably used to this or was just rather patient. She didn't seem to look mad, the expression on her face remained neutral.

Liria couldn't read Enma, not a bit in the woman's expression or posture told her one bit about what she was truly feeling. The girl felt herself get nervous, how did applying for a job suddenly turn dangerous?

Liria straightened her posture and forced herself to keep staring at Enma. Even when the latter's eyes narrowed, Liria's gaze didn't falter.

"So, what's your answer, Liria?" Enma finally spoke, a threat in her voice. 

Liria's hand reached her hand out. Liria didn't even know why she was doing it, she didn't even realize why she was doing it until she stopped midway and stared at her hand as if it was foreign. It felt like her subconscious self wanted her to reach out, to accept Enma's hand and get this over and done with. Her brain was already short-circuiting in a way that flooded and overwhelmed her with troubled thoughts and a familiar, afflicting voice in her head telling her to just accept Enma's offer.

 _Fuck, that voice, it keeps coming back_. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she closed her eyes- to shut off that damned voice that kept plaguing her.

"What happens if I said no?" Liria asked.

"Well usually we would erase your memories, we do have talented Mythoses who have that kind of power," Enma answered. "But after some unfortunate events that have occurred for the past month, I'm afraid we might need to eliminate you."

Liria should have expected it. She was just an outlier in the middle of a war, a neutral party, a risk to Cover Corps if she ever got out of this building alive without accepting Enma's offer. She understood why they needed to eliminate her if she refused, but even so, it still hurts.

Liria barely got out of getting killed the night before, and now her life was already at risk the day after.

She took a glimpse of the two Mythoses standing behind her. The scythe-wielder had an unreadable expression on her face, but just from the way that her shoulders were sagging and how she fidgeted with her fingers, Liria could tell that she didn't want this to happen. The shark girl was a stark difference from the scythe-wielder, mouth smiling wide to show a row of razor-sharp teeth- like a shark, of course- and just she looked more enthused.

Liria guessed they would be the ones to kill her.

"I'm guessing I won't be getting out of here alive if I refuse, aren't I?"

"...No." Enma gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Liria didn't know what to do now. Die or join, those were her only choices.

Die or join.

Liria did support the liberation of the Mythoses, she believed that they deserved the freedom humans had, and she had helped a few Mythoses in the past. But joining Cover Corps was the last thing she would do, joining them meant she would risk herself getting hunted down by the ANTIs, tortured for information, then a public execution. Such was the fate for the few humans who were members of Cover Corps.

She remembered the first public execution, the rumble of excitement from the crowd as they looked on towards the executioners in cheers, the disgusting stench of blood and gunpowder in the air. She'd covered her ears as the ANTI soldiers raised their firearms and shot at a couple of people all lined up by a brick wall- the sympathizers, all wearings masks to symbolize that they had become nothing to the eyes of the general public. The clanging of bullets being fired resonating with her own heartbeats, almost like a violent song. They died almost immediately, and Liria watched in horror as their bodies fell limp and collapsed to the ground. The blue skies would be painted with blood that day, how the sickly, sweet red permanently burned into her memories, a constant reminder of how fucked up everything had become.

Liria was 14-years old that day, almost 2 years had passed and she made a pact to herself that she wouldn't end up as one of the poor bastards that were executed, and she would survive.

She would survive, she needed to, she still had a promise to fulfill.

Enma must have noticed the conflict resonating within the poor girl. She pulled back her hand and nodded towards the scythe-wielder. The scythe-wielder's eyes lit up in puzzlement as Enma pulled out a chair from beside the table and sat down.

"This will probably be a tough decision, Liria," Enma said. "So we'll give you two days to think about it."

Liria snapped back into reality and looked at Enma. "Two days?"

Enma nodded and averted her gaze towards the scythe-wielder. "As I've said before, you're going- or in this case, _might_ be- Calliope's manager," She said. "So for the next two days, we'll let you be accompanied by Calliope."

"Calliope?" 

"The woman behind you, you know, the one that almost killed you last night." Enma calmly replied as if this whole ordeal was a normal, run-in-the-mill thing.

So that was her name. _Calliope_. Perhaps she was named after one of the seven Muses in Greek Mythology who presided over epic poetry and eloquence, famed for the ecstatic harmony of her voice. And the scythe-wielder did have quite a beautiful voice, perhaps her name being Calliope had been no coincidence at all.

Liria turned her head to look at Calliope. They stared at each other for a second too long before Calliope looked away and refused to meet Liria's eyes again.

 _Guess she might be guilty about last night_. Liria gave an awkward smile to Calliope before turning back to look at Enma.

"So, what's the purpose for...uhh...Calliope here to follow me?" Liria asked.

"She'll monitor you for the next two days, making sure you're not gonna go out and tell anyone that Cover Corps has been hiding right here," Enma answered, waving an arm lazily to gesture everything around them. "We can't risk that information to leak out, not when things have been getting difficult for us."

Liria understood what Enma meant. Desperate times called for desperate ways, and they were in the middle of a war. 

"I see," Liria said. "Well...I guess I understand why you're doing this."

"Which part?"

"Killing me if I decide not to join, having one of your members to follow me and make sure I won't do anything that'll endanger Cover Corps," Liria said. "I've seen how people can be driven to desperation when backed up in the corner, I guess this is happening to Cover Corps."

Liria couldn't read the look on Enma's face. Although the woman was rather good at hiding her emotions, her hesitation told Liria that what she had said was spot on. Enma lowered her head and sighed.

"You're a good kid, I can tell, and I don't want you to be killed yet when your life has just barely begun," Enma quietly began. "But you're right, we are living at a desperate time, and desperate times call for desperate measures. It doesn't matter that you may support our cause, but we can't risk anything when we're so close. I'm sorry."

"We have no choice anymore."

Liria forced herself to smile, even when that inescapable feeling of close-to-death was looming over her, weighing down on her like someone had put metal on her back. It felt like it was crushing her lungs and Liria almost found it getting hard to breathe.

 _Calm down, Liria, nothing's happening right now_. Liria squeezed her arm as the voice comes back. _Just...breathe. You'll be fine, you'll be fine_.

As Enma opened her mouth and was about to speak, but then she heard multiple voices cut through the thin glass from outside the room. She couldn't hear what they were saying but something was up. A man suddenly burst into the room, huffing and puffing as he gathered his breath. Liria looked past Enma's shoulder and took a good look at the man. 

The man's face was frozen in shock, but there was a wild look in his eyes as if the man had saw something he wished to forget. His clothes were in complete tatters and were hastily put on, suggesting the man had been in a hurry to get there. 

Then Liria saw the blood that covered his clothes and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"Christ, Akagi-san, what the fuck happened!?" Enma exclaimed as she got up from her seat. The man stumbled towards her, and collapsed into her arms. "You were meant to be out 

"They've...they've got..." The man stammered. 

"It's okay Akagi-san, take your time."

"The squad...we...we were out on p-patrol, nothing was...was wrong..and shit, so we didn't think much...much about it," The man began to explain, stuttering. "We...we got to...to the location where we...we got that dis..distress signal a week...week ago, and..."

"And...?" 

The man doesn't respond. His body began to tremble as his eyes widened, and Liria could almost see the horror the man must have seen. He gripped onto the side of his head and gave a pained scream. Liria could do nothing but watch in trepidation and listen as the man's ear-piercing shrieks would void and overwhelm her senses.

"Fuck! Gura, go get a medic and be back quick," Enma instructed as she looked at the shark-girl. "Something's fucking wrong."

Liria glanced at the shark-girl and noticed that she had turned serious, the toothy grin from earlier was gone, replaced by a sudden, eerie calmness.

"Will do." She said before she ran out of the room, and she was up and gone. Liria watched from the doorway as the shark-girl's figure receded in the distance, and the last thing she saw was a flick from her shark tail as she turned around the corner.

"Calliope," Enma said as she glanced at Calliope. "Take Liria and go somewhere else, looks like we've got another problem in our hands."

Calliope nodded, all shred of awkwardness emanating from the woman had disappeared and a strange sense of determination took place instead. 

"Alright, we'll you be okay Enma?" 

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Enma replied. "Now go, and get Liria out of here!"

Liria was about to protest when she felt a gentle hand placed on her shoulder. She glanced back at Calliope, who looked at her with an expression filled with the same eerie calmness and shook her head. Liria looked back and forth between Enma- who was currently shouting her head off at someone she was calling on her phone- and Calliope, deciding what to do.

Something was definitely wrong, there was a dreadful buzz in the air as she heard some commotion from outside the meeting room. Liria absolutely didn't want to just stand there and leave this problem to the adults, she always did hate being useless at times of need.

But what could she do? She was just a kid in the middle of the chaos trying to survive. She didn't know how to fight, didn't know how to help, and she couldn't stop picturing the blood-stained day two years ago that prevented her to do anything. While everyone was out there fighting for a freedom no one was sure had existed, all Liria could do was hide and watch as they do their work, like a cowardly rat.

She was weak, she knew that. But it still it hurts to know.

"We have to go." Calliope urged as she shook Liria's shoulder.

Liria sighed and followed Calliope. The latter gestured for her to exit first as she slid the glass door open. 

The last thing Liria saw before she left, was Enma panicking as the man suddenly passed out and fell to the floor. It took all of Liria's will to look away, as Calliope closed the door and she could not see any more.

* * *

Amelia hadn't realized that she would be meeting Ina soon until she looked at a calendar she kept in her room. 

She sat in her bed like a good citizen and pretended not to notice the complete chaos outside this paradise she called her room and acted oblivious to the oncoming shitstorm that would soon come. She stared blankly at the calendar, her eyes never leaving the giant red marker circled around a specific date as she listened to the cacophony of panic and haste coming from outside.

Amelia could feel the rumble of footsteps beneath her feet, it shook the walls, the floor, and the bed she sat on. Although it was very much distracting, she closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore it.

She heard a whine from beneath her and looked down. Her fingers were half-buried in soft, pale fur that shivered and twitched in its own accord. Bubba cowered below his master's legs and tried to fit in the small space beneath Amelia's bed, despite his rather large size. 

Amelia soothed the frightened dog, trying to make the sudden spike of her heartbeats from infecting him with her own unease. 

"I'm sorry there, boy," She cooed. "You're a good boy, Bubba...you're a good boy."

Bubba whined, he hopped onto the bed and took a place right beside Amelia. He dug his head between Amelia's arms and laid there quietly as the discordance outside continued.

Amelia chuckled. "Aw man, you're really are goddamn annoying."

She looked up at the calendar again, her eyes narrowed again at the red marker circled around a date. 

November 26th, just 10 months from now. One of the major battles against the ANTIs and Cover Corps would play out. 

Amelia closed her eyes, and she could just see the battle that would occur. The gunfire, the smoke, the smell of gunpowder, ash, and blood that burned her nose. She could picture the destruction that surrounded her, like a tiny island in the middle of an endless, vast ocean of bodies, decay, and debris. She remembered the thunder of machines- copies of one that they thought they had destroyed- that echoed and reverberated for miles without end, and how they scraped the skies and scarred the Earth with their weapons. But it was that sick red that she could vividly see, the slick, sweet blood from her fallen friends that stained the world in the color of rust.

And suddenly Amelia was only that cowering girl, too weak to fight back against the machines, too weak to do anything that all she could do was stand in horror and watch as everyone she knew and loved was massacred in front of her eyes.

Calliope would continue to fight despite the corruption that had infected her like a parasite, she would slice everything she could see with her scythe. Death could not die, and everyone knew that, so all Calli could do was bulldoze her way through the hordes of soldiers, blinded with rage and blood lust as she held a dying Kiara in her arms.

Kiara would be the first to die in their small group, her flames would quickly burn out to save her friends and any hopes of her to revive again would be snuffed out. Life always did find a way to end, not even a simple concept such as a revival could save Kiara from her fate. In Calli's arms would be her final resting place as she slowly dissolved into ash.

Ina lost her mind and went berserk, killing anyone- friend or foe- as 'sacrifices' to the ancient god that corrupted her mind like a pathogen. Amelia guessed she had finally given up her life for the deity, and lost control of her own. She couldn't even recognize her own friend anymore, the calm and friendly Ina replaced by a killing machine.

And Gura.

Gura would sacrifice her life to give Amelia another chance to change things. She remembered the giant machine that loomed over her that was preparing to deliver the finishing strike. Amelia had accepted her fate then, but then Gura came out of nowhere and pushed her out of the way.

Leaving the shark-girl in the crossfire.

Amelia would never forget that squelch, the sickening noise of bones being broken and flesh being ripped apart. Gura's blood splattered everywhere, on the pavement, against the sky's blue, and on Amelia, who could do nothing but stare in horror as her friend, and would-be lover died right in front of her.

Gura didn't scream when the machine tore on her body, and instead looked up at Amelia with eyes filled with the same love she had seen the night before when they cuddled naked underneath the stars.

And this all started, because of _her_.

 _Fuck_. Rage seethed through Amelia's body. She sighed as she ran her hands down her hair, and tried to forget. But she could never forget, only remember.

It was her friendly, little reminder of what she was there to do.

And Amelia swore to herself that she would fix things, and make sure that the future would not be destroyed by one girl's incompetence. And if she was left with no other choice, she would destroy _her_.

To protect the future, her friends.

To protect Gura at all costs.

Amelia pulled out a pocket watch from her coat and held it gingerly in her hands. It was golden, adorned with sapphire gems, and had an intricate design etched into the gold. Black clock hands ticked away in a rhythmic ease, pointing towards roman numerals carved into the clock face. On the back of the beautiful, and well-made pocket watch was a rather strange symbol crudely carved into it as if a claw of a wild animal was used to chisel it in.

Amelia was familiar with that symbol, she would regularly picture it from time-to-time like flashbacks to a life she used to lead.

Bubba started to bark and snapped Amelia back to the present.

The frightened dog was barking ferociously at the wall behind her bed. Amelia took a moment to adjust to the dog's sudden change in attitude, she had never seen Bubba this terrified before, she'd never heard him bark this harshly or bare his teeth. He was a kind and gentle dog who wouldn't hurt a fly. Something must have spooked him enough to suddenly do this.

Then Amelia noticed the sudden change in the ambiance, it became more relaxed and calmed, as if she was drifting away in a tranquil ocean.

She realized another presence had joined them.

Amelia did her best to soothe and calm Bubba down from his startled rage, but this seemed to agitate the dog even more.

"Ohhh, goddamnit Bubba," Amelia cursed. "Come here, boy. Nothing's going to hurt you-"

Amelia noticed a looming shadow forming on the walls and immediately shut up. It pulsated like a heartbeat as if it was alive, and emanating from it was this strange and otherworldly energy. A clawed hand emerged from the darkness, followed by a fleshy arm- no skin, just twitching muscle and sinew intertwined with bones- protected by a white substance that looked like bone, and then a face that Amelia could not see as it was covered by a mask of bone shaped like a canine's head. A body comes out next- Jet-black. Tall, and thin, almost humanoid by appearance- and then multiple arms that stretched out from the back like tentacles, grabbing onto the side of the walls as the _thing_ slowly and completely emerged from the darkness.

Despite its humanoid appearance, its proportions did not match those of a proper human; the thin, fleshy arms were so long that it managed to reach past its knees, the elongated legs bent and shaped like those of a digitigrade animal. Everything about the _thing_ was disproportionate, mangled, wrong, and most importantly weird.

The _thing_ made a low, croaking noise, and the mask on its face twisted upside-down as it was imitating a smile. 

"Ah...Amelia," It spoke quietly in a distorted voice. "Good...to see you...again."

Amelia looked up at the empty holes of its mask- assuming those were its eyes- and smiled.

"Ah, if it isn't the Monarch of Lies, The One Beyond, The Shadow Emperor." Amelia greeted. "Offspring of the Great Yog-Sothoth-"

"Please, spare me...the formalities...I am not here...to be...friends." It interrupted. "You do...know what I am...here for right?"

"Why do you sound weird?"

The _thing_ made a weird noise as if it was trying to scoff. "I've lent most...of my power to you...to the point where I'm...too exhausted to...talk...or even maintain this...physical form."

"Hah, sucks to be you then." 

The arms that sprouted from the _thing's_ back began to move and carried it off towards the foot of Amelia's bed. God, she hated the sight of how the _thing_ walked, the elongated arms acted like its legs and carried it as if it was an inverted spider.

"Enough...of the idle...chatter," It growled and Amelia almost immediately shut up. "You know...what I am here...for."

"Yeah, yeah I do," Amelia's smile on her face quickly disappeared as she leaned in towards it. "So tell me, what's up"

"Ever since you...came back here...there hasn't been...any major changes."The _thing_ said. "However, that was...until today."

Amelia quirked an eyebrow. "What...what do you mean." 

Amelia realized she sounded nervous. She quickly regained her composure before the _thing_ would notice that she let her guard down because one thing she had learned was to never make the scary eldritch deity notice you were mentally weak because that made you easier to be corrupted.

And Amelia had seen an eldritch corruption before, and it was a painful process she really didn't want to go through.

Thankfully, it seemed to have ignored her unease or it never noticed. "You must have...done something when you came...back that you just...made a significant change."

"A significant change...how exactly?"

The _thing_ remained silent. 

"Come on, just tell me, what's wrong?" Amelia urged.

The _thing_ almost seemed to be hesitating. 

"Oh, great Monarch of Lies. What has made you silent?" Amelia urged again, sarcasm dripping from her tongue like venom as she spoke. "Is it really that bad?"

Finally, the _thing_ spoke. "You...might not...want to see this."

Its hands reached out to Amelia with an open palm. A dark, murky substance started to gather on its hand, swirling, shifting, almost pulsating even. It shaped itself into a spherical form as the pulsating stopped and the substance looked smooth like glass.

Amelia could see her reflection from the dark sphere, it was like she was staring at a glass ball. Her reflection on the sphere began to swirl and slowly replaced by an image of a corridor.

"Nice transition."

"...Thank you."

Amelia noticed pink hair coming into view of the 'screen', followed by a scythe, and a figure heavily cladded in black robes. Their face was hidden by a dark veil, but Amelia could immediately speculate who that figure was.

Calli walked down the corridor with as much poise and confidence she normally had, but the way she walked briskly and how she looked around her surroundings with a careful watch told Amelia that Calli was nervous.

Even a grandeur figure such as Calli was feeling the panic resonating within the building.

Amelia noticed Calli wasn't alone, her eyes traveling to a smaller figure trailing behind the reaper.

Messy black hair that needed to be trimmed. Cobalt-blue eyes. The faded, denim blue jacket that was twice their size. And that tattered, black scarf.

The way they stumbled after Calli as if they were unsure of themselves. The uncertainty in their eyes.

Amelia's eyes widened. _No, no...it can't be_...

The two figures in the room went silent for a moment. 

Amelia listened to her crescendo of heartbeats, accompanied by a white noise that crept and overwhelmed her senses. She tried to calm herself as she stared at the sphere- grief, pain, and sadness, swirling within her and gripped onto her heart, heavy and harsh.

It eventually cumulated to a seething rage, hot and hungry that even Amelia herself was surprised that she could get that angry.

She recognized that figure, she _knew_ that figure.

She'd trusted them, confided in them when things were difficult, hell she was sure she liked them at one point.

They used to be the best of friends, in another life.

Then they drove a knife down Amelia's back- both literally and figuratively- forever severing a friendship built from months of trust.

Amelia ran over to the calendar and frantically flipped through the months. She stopped, and she ran a finger across different dates until it reached the current one.

"Today's February 14th...that can't be..." Amelia muttered. "When did she join us in the last timeline...?"

"If I can...remember...it was around the 25th day...of the 2nd month..."

"February 25th..." Amelia's eyes widened. "She's...she's over a week too early!"

"I am...afraid...so." 

"What is she doing here..." Amelia trembled as a fresh swell of rage rose in her, clenching her fists until it turned white. Hot, salty tears poured from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks like a waterfall. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE!?"

"You must have...done something in...the current...timeline...that the present is...changing." The _thing_ said, moving closer towards Amelia to have a look at the calendar.

"But...I didn't even do anything yet!" Amelia exclaimed. "All I've done is waited for the 25th, so that as soon as she would be here-"

"But...she is here...now."

"But-"

"Don't...worry about...her for...now," The _thing_ interrupted. "She may have...come early, but...the timeline from before...remains the same."

"So that means we'll find Ina at that abandoned factory at the edge of the city tomorrow?"

"Yes...so if I were you...ignore...the girl for now...until she has become...a significant threat to our plans."

Amelia opened her mouth, but no words came out. She could still feel the rage throbbing within her, mixed along with her own heartbeats. She heeded its advice, and tried to ignore the girl, for now, focusing on tomorrow instead.

But Amelia's mind just wouldn't stop picturing her. How she stood over her with an unreadable expression, the blood on the knife she used to stab her glinting from the pale moonlight. _Don't think...don't think..._

A wolf in sheep's clothing. That was the best way to describe her. _Amelia...just stop..._

No matter what happens next, Amelia would do anything to have her revenge. She swore that if the girl followed the same thing as the previous time, then she would make sure that she would never see the light of day ever again.

Amelia closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh, to calm herself down before her anger would consume her again.

"It seems like it has begun." She said.

"...Indeed...it has..." The _thing_ agreed.

* * *

**「Next time」**

"It was a joke...by the way"

"Around ten of our members have gone missing at around this area."

"...Go away."

"Fine...I accept."

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, Amelia came from the future who could have seen this coming??? (sarcasm). I kinda had fun writing Liria's character in this chapter, she's finally getting interesting? 
> 
> Anyways, updates will probably come longer now, school just started again where I am right now so yeah.
> 
> That's all for now, thanks guys!


	5. 5// Wanna be Startin' Somethin' [Part 3]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calli and Liria have a weird talk about freedom, and Gura joins in a mission to hunt down whoever was causing the disappearance of multiple Cover Corps members.

Liria was fucking screwed. That was what Calli immediately thought when she and the girl had left the meeting room and Enma with the frightened man. 

A day had passed and the two hadn't talked much ever since they left the meeting room. They hadn't really had a chance to when Liria had opted to hole herself up in a small room provided to her that hadn't been used in quite a while and hadn't come out until the next morning came. Calli had wanted to check up on her but decided against it assuming the poor girl would prefer to be left alone.

The two were at a gigantic cafeteria late in the morning- Calli in the kitchen boiling water in a kettle, and Liria settled in one of the cafeteria tables. 

The cafeteria would have been filled with various chatter, the voices reverberating around the giant space, and this blank slate of a cafeteria would be painted with the various tones and tints of colors and people. But the two were alone, nothing but the deafening silence to accompany their weary thoughts.

Calli already knew what was going on and hadn't been concerned about the lack of people in the cafeteria. The base had been on high alert ever since the injured man stumbled his way into the meeting room, and mostly everyone had gone out to their duties, at their rooms streaming or were to prepare for a mission that was due to occur tonight-

To take care of the problem that caused the wounds on the man and had managed to kill several of their own members.

Calli didn't want t think much about it. She wasn't even going to be placed in the mission, and there was another predicament she found herself stuck in.

There was a torturous conflict brewing within Calli ever since Enma had given Liria her only choices. She couldn't make up her mind whether to feel remorse for the young girl or simply just nothing. She knew that Liria was nothing more than an 'asset' for now, a risk that they couldn't take- but not until she would ultimately decide to join Cover Corps. Then again, Liria was a child, her life had just barely begun and now she was forced to choose between two choices and both seem to end up as a one-way trip to death.

Calli sighed. Humans were confusing, but human emotions were more fucking confusing.

But most of all, she really did not want to reap Liria's soul.

A ding from the kettle indicated to Calli that it had finally finished boiling. She poured the hot water into a mug of powdered cocoa and stopped just about midway through the mug. It wasn't for herself, Calli much preferred her beverages black with a bit more caffeine to kick off the day.

"You want some milk with it?" Calli asked, her voice echoed in the empty space of the cafeteria. 

"Uh...yeah, sure."Liria's voice called out from the very back.

Calli heeded Liria's answer and poured milk into the half-full mug of hot cocoa. She took a whiff of the vapors emanating from the beverage- it was pretty good, despite Calli's preferences, maybe she would make herself a cup later, and it reminded her of a peculiar phoenix's taste when it came to hot drinks.

Calli picked up the mug of cocoa and another mug filled with black coffee she made for herself earlier, and made her way to Liria.

"Hey, here's some hot cocoa," Calli said as she served Liria with the fresh mug of cocoa. The girl looked at her as if she was snapped out of some sort of trance,"I would have served you some coffee, but I wasn't too sure if you'd like it."

"It's fine!" Liria said and immediately began chugging down the cocoa. 

The two sat quietly together as they drank their beverages- Calli sipping on her black coffee with grace and Liria guzzling down on her cocoa with the energy a typical 16-year old would have. There was still an air of awkwardness in the ambiance between them, but it was barely noticeable that Calli could easily ignore it, she couldn't say the same for Liria though.

The cafeteria was empty- save for Calli and Liria- yet the girl chose to sit on a faraway table by the corner as if she was trying to hide from unseen forces. Despite her vivacity as she chugged her cocoa earlier, she was fumbling with the mug's handle, her eyes were cast down and she stared intensely at the grey, metal top of the table. She looked nervous, and there was a gleam of uncertainty in her eyes.

Calli assumed she was pondering about the choices Enma gave her. She couldn't blame Liria to feel this way, she'd probably feel this way too if she ever faced this dilemma.

Calli took a long sip of her coffee. "Well, you got something in your mind?"

Liria doesn't reply and continued to drink her cocoa. It didn't matter, Calli could already guess what Liria's answer would be.

"Is this about what Enma said," Calli said as she placed her mug on the table. 

Liria frowned. She opened her mouth and opted to speak, but no words came out. Calli could tell that uncertainty was definitely holding her back. Several moments spent in silence pass between them before Calli settled to speak again.

"I won't pry any further if you don't want me to," Calli said. "But I've heard that it is good to talk things out, humans are good at that aren't they?"

Liria made a noise as if she tried to suppress a snort but had failed. "If we were good at 'talking things out', then we wouldn't have this Mythos-Human revolutionary war in the first place."

Calli's lips quirk up in a small smile. "I guess...you're right."

"I know, I'm cool that way," Liria said with a smirk. However, she quickly stopped smirking and looked anywhere but at Calli as she withdrew to a sullen silence. "Ah...fuck."

Calli wanted to ask what was wrong, seeing that Liria had been pulled back to her earlier uncertain state, but had decided against the notion and had chosen instead to continue sipping her coffee. She observed the girl with a careful eye, careful to not let the latter notice her, and became aware of some slight changes to the girl's demeanor.

The energetic spirit a typical 16-year old would have that Liria had was gone, she still had that doubtful look, but her face was scrunched up as if she was trying to hold back her tears, and her body was trembling- it was barely noticeable unless you really focused on looking at her, but Calli had always been good at noticing these kinds of things despite her lack of social skills. Liria just stared blankly at the cocoa in front of her as if she was taking a special interest in the swirling waves of malted chocolate. 

Calli's feelings remained unsettled as she stared cautiously at the girl in front of her. She sighed deeply and returned her gaze to her cup of coffee. 

_God, why is it never easy to talk to people?_ Calli thought to herself as if she was imagining a conversation with nobody in particular. 

As Calli was about to take a sip of her coffee, she heard a gasp coming from Liria's direction and almost dropped her mug in surprise from the sudden noise. 

"W..what, are you okay?" Calli asked. 

She looked at Liria, the girl was shaking even more now, and beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead as if her body was having trouble deciding what temperature it was. Her pupils were dilated, and would just not leave the mug of cocoa in front of her. Her hand was clutching her jacket until her knuckles had begun to whiten from how harsh she had been grabbing onto it. Under her jacket, her chest was rising and falling at an alarming rate, pumping out every bit of air in her lungs from her mouth.

Liria looked so afraid, so detached from reality and everything around her, but Calli could do nothing but watch as the girl was unraveling in front of her. The feeling of helplessness struck the reaper like a bullet to her heart.

Swallowing hard, Calli dropped all pretense she held and forced herself to slowly approach Liria. This was the best way to do it right? She didn't know what to do- hell, she didn't even know what was going on with Liria.

"Hey, it'll be...alright," Calli said, putting a hand on Liria's shoulder.

Liria mumbled something incoherent under her breath. 

"Liria?"

"I'm sorry, I-" Liria's voice quivered as she struggled to speak. "God...sorry, I'm just..."

"Thinking about what Enma said?" Calli asked, hoping Liria would finally give her a straight answer.

Liria doesn't speak, but a small nod from her confirms Liria's suspicions. 

Calli's demeanor hardened, an unreadable stretching across her features as she pondered on how to help Liria get through this 'attack'.

Calli was an Avatar of Death, she was good at the things she was born to do, and that was reaping the souls of those whose time was about to pass, and overseeing said souls to pass onto the afterlife, like a mother duck herding her ducklings. But Calli didn't have the same warmth a mother duck did, she was as dead and cold as the corpses the souls she had reaped had previously belonged to, and she sure as hell was shit at comforting people.

But what the hell, there's always a first time for everything.

Calli pulled up a chair close to Liria and sat down. She shifted her body towards Liria, grabbed the girl's hand, and began rubbing it with her thumb in a weird, comforting, and gentle way, a very foreign action from someone like Calli.

Liria gasped and almost jerked her hand away as she felt the ice-cold touch of death herself. She looked up and stared at Calli, her eyes gleaming with a mix of confusion and hesitation. 

"I'm not really good at...comforting people," Calli explained, refusing to meet with Liria's eyes as a soft tint of red graced her pale cheeks. "Kiara does this whenever I'm 'out of it' or just having a bad day...in general."

"K...Kiara?" Liria sounded like she had forgotten that name.

"The woman that was with me the other night," Calli answered. "The one with the orange hair, almost like flames."

Recognition lit up in Liria's eyes. "Ah, her."

Calli had already speculated that Liria had forgotten about the fateful night 2 years ago, and most importantly, her and Kiara. Time was a merciful, yet unforgivable thing, it gave as much as it took away, it either left you with nothing or everything. Time had robbed Liria's memory of that night and perhaps left it to decay in the back of her mind, but Calli wasn't even angry. It was to be expected, it was just another part of life's design, and death couldn't complain.

And yet, there was a painful ache in her chest as she came to that conclusion.

"Can I ask you a question?" Liria's voice squeaked out and snapped Calli from the darkness of her thoughts.

"Go ahead," Calli replied as she leaned back on her chair, still holding onto Liria's hand.

Liria gave a shaky sigh and looked away from Calli's gaze. "What-" Her raspy voice wavered. "What do you think of...'freedom'?"

Calli froze in place, her eyes scanning Liria for any indication that the latter wasn't serious. But the expression on her face remained unreadable. The reaper's mind was swirling with many thoughts, most of them formed from her being confused by what Liria meant. Of all the questions she'd assumed that Liria would ask her, it was one that Calli couldn't immediately make up an answer for on the spot.

Freedom, she knew of freedom once. It wasn't just a word, there used to be a meaning behind it. Free from being trapped in the darkness, to have the ability to act and or change without any constraint, to mean the absence of arbitrary restraints. To walk out on the streets without fear of being tyrannized, without fear of being put to death just because you were different than the rest.

But it was a purely abstract ideal. Freedom didn't exist there anymore, only despair lived, like tentacles constricting the heart of the weary few and squeezing every bit of hope that remained. 

And that was the world Calli had lived in. The 'freedom' she knew brought in more unnecessary wars and fighting than she could count- all those people blindly tailing their deaths deceived by the very thing that they fought for. History had always doomed to repeat itself, and now it was here to repeat again, this bloody revolutionary war between the Mythos and Humans that should never have started.

When Calli thought of freedom, she thought of despair and pain.

How pathetic, that was what Calli thought of herself. Centuries of living and she still didn't know the true meaning of freedom.

Calli was unsure of what to say. "Freedom, huh?"

Liria stared at Calli with eyes filled with so much hope that the reaper wanted to vomit. It hurt her to see so much innocence and hope all contained in one person, it was as if the fates that watched from above was mocking her with this naive display.

But even more, it hurt Calli to stare at those hope-filled eyes, lit up like a candle flame and knowing how easily it could be snuffed out. 

This poor child, chained by fate to live a difficult life. Calli cursed herself, and the gods that watched over them, under her cold breath.

"Freedom...I don't exactly know what it means," A half-lie. "I guess, freedom means going out there, living life to the fullest or whatnot. All those sappy shit movies say all the time."

Liria gave a small chuckle, and Calli noticed that her focus seemed less detached than before, and her breathing was slowly beginning to even out to a calmer rhythm. "You...you fight for a revolutionary group that's all about, 'freedom'! 'liberty'! 'down with the pigs!-" Liria made exaggerated gestures with her arms as she said those words. "And yet...you don't seem to understand what freedom is to you."

"I guess I didn't really have a choice to, given the fact that I'm too busy trying to live and survive."

"Death trying to live?" Liria laughed at the irony, but immediately stopped when she saw the unamused look Calli expressed. "That was a joke...by the way."

"It's fine," Calli gave an exasperated sigh. "But what about you, what do you think of freedom."

Liria squirmed in her seat and looked away from Calli's gaze, a weird expression forming on her features. She seemed almost uncomfortable by Calli's question, but even more hesitant to answer.

"Hey, you don't need to answer if you don't want to-"

"I think freedom means is that you can live without fear, without restraints, to live so freely that you could grow wings and soar above the clouds," Liria interrupted, giving Calli a bolt of surprise. "When I think of freedom, I think of everyone having the right to act of change without unjust constraints, to be free from control or restrictions imposed to you by the oppressors, without fear of being killed for fighting for what you believe is right. That's what I see, a world rid of fear."

Calli scoffed as she leaned forward. "Freedom without fear? I understand where you're going, but a world without fear is almost impossible. No matter how hard one works, you can never completely get rid of the primal sense we call 'fear'. And I doubt even if Cover Corps won this war, fear would truly be eradicated."

"Pessimistic much?"

"Hey, being doubtful is what's kept me moving for a while now," Calli said. "You almost sound like a politician trying to convince their people that freedom does exist."

"I sound like that Roosevelt guy from like the 30s right?" Liria said, a small grin gracing her features. "Lemme see, how did it go again... _So, first of all...let me assert my firm.._ uhhh _...belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself -nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance._ "

"Something from Roosevelt, I assume?" 

"Yep, the first thing he ever said in his speech on his first inauguration day," Liria replied. "Read about him in a book once, before the libraries were shut down. Didn't really care for politics and shit, it's confusing as fuck, but this speech, especially this line- it almost felt like it was resonating with me."

"Fear, huh?" Calli whistled. "What's up with you and...fear?"

Liria doesn't answer Calli's question and instead settled on looking at her cocoa again as if she saw something in the swirling malted chocolate. A choir of white noise accompanies them as the two sat in silence, that familiar feeling of awkwardness flooding in between them again. Calli watched as Liria took her mug of cocoa and chugged the rest of it down with one swig, smacking her lips as her mouth leaves the mug.

"I wonder why..." Liria mused.

Calli didn't know what to say and opted to sip from her mug of coffee instead. It had become lukewarm and more bitter than it was 10 minutes ago. She cringed at the sudden bitterness that touched her tongue and put down the mug on the table. Her mind promptly decided to never pick up that mug of cocoa a second time.

Several moments of silence passed between the two. Calli toyed with the ring on her finger- a ring her sensei gave to her when she took over their job centuries ago- and eyed the shining black metal with a heedful eye. It was definitely centuries old, made out of a rare metal that could not be found in the modern age anymore. It was a small trinket, but the sentimental value of it was more than enough for Calli.

It wasn't until Calli put her hand down and looked at Liria again when the latter spoke.

"I guess, I just don't want to be afraid of anything anymore, maybe I've lived in fear for so long that I'm tired of it," Liria said with a distant expression. 

"Then why are you hesitating to join us-" Calli's eyes widened as their eyes meet once again.

Calli finally took notice of what Liria really looked like. She was tiny, she could probably reach past Calli's chest but nothing more. Her face was thin and her cheeks sunken, but her eyes were full of hope, yet it had that cold gleam of someone who was tired of everything going to shit around them. They were deep and understanding, the eyes of a girl who had seen so much death.

And Calli saw herself as Liria, with that same gleam of exhaustion in her eyes, who had seen so much death with those eyes. Those eyes bore deep into her soul, impaled her like a spear, and suddenly she was struck with a realization, that she and the girl were almost the same.

"I want to go back to a time when everything was simple by design. But the irony is, that I'm too afraid to fight back-"

"I am a coward."

* * *

The first time you ever see it, the dump would probably be not what you anticipated. If you heard of the word 'dump' you would think of massive piles of garbage, rubble, and any sorts of useless junk that found its place there. However, this dump was entirely different.

The dump was once the site where a gigantic factory stood in its prime glory before an accident years ago occurred and the factory was forced to close down. No one really knew what went down there that forced it to be shut down, hell even no one knew what sort of shit was produced there before it was shut down and left abandoned. There were theories of what happened, many whispered of an occult ritual that went terribly wrong or an enslaved Mythos that went berserk and killed the owner. But it didn't matter, the factory's history would forever remain a mystery no matter if the truth came to light or not.

Years later, all that was left of the factory was a towering castle of decaying metal that creaked and moaned from decades of rust. Now its use was for nearby residents to just dump their needed junk there and drive off, and to house the many species of fauna that found the unearthly building a safe area to hideaway or build a nest in.

Gura hated the dump. There was just something unsettling about the structure that sent chills down her spine and goosebumps on her arms. How the rusted metal just seemed to lean over you like a colossal beast, mouth wide open for the darkness to swallow you whole, or how the wind whistled through the vast space like a beast howling.

The fact that it was about to be night made the feeling all the more worse.

 _S'alright Gura, it's nothing_. A lie, Gura swore there was something lurking in the darkness, waiting. _Nothing...just some rats, probably, and that...stink_.

Gura placed the heavy grating on the utility hole as gingerly as she could, but with her tiny fingers and lack of upper body strength, she accidentally released her hold and the grating fell with a metal clang.

Gura's senior- Coco Kiryuu- quickly swept around and pressed a finger on her mouth to imitate a hush. Gura flashed Coco an apologetic look before getting up to brush the dirt from her clothes. 

There were 8 of them in total, all grouped up to form a small squadron with one goal in mind- find out who or what was causing the disappearance of their fellow Cover Corps members. 

Gura remembered how it started, two weeks ago, a small group of scouts was attacked, leaving one survivor to tell the story. Then three days after, another group disappeared, and following from that, more would disappear. The higher-ups couldn't spare to send a massive group to check what the heck was up around here, not when the ANTIs were becoming more aggressive by each passing day.

It wasn't until yesterday when the man stumbled into the meeting room on the base's eighth floor that the higher-ups decided that enough was enough.

Gura wasn't meant to join this mission in the first place but staying cooped up in the confines of her room didn't do many wonders to her physical and mental health. The feeling of isolation- almost like dark tendrils that wrapped and suffocated her heart- was something Gura refused to feel again.

And so here she was, a tiny figure standing in front of the moaning structure, itching to fight whoever was causing them trouble just to hide the fact that she got lonely easily, stinking like hell after hours of walking through an abandoned sewer system.

Was it pathetic? She couldn't say for sure. 

Gura began walking, listening to the crunch of glass being crushed underneath her foot. She cautiously followed the others towards the factory's entrance, her hand close to the handle of her trident- just in case.

"Around 10 of our members have gone missing in this area," Coco, who was acting as their leader for the mission, said from the front of the group in a more quiet tone than Gura was used to. "Be careful, and don't get separated, who knows what kind of motherfucker has been hiding here."

"Roger that," Gura heard Botan's voice call out from behind her.

Gura approached a nearby pile of rubble nearby and inspected the contents, as the others dump some load they'd been carrying in a clearing nearby. A broken tv with a screen that looked like it was punched in, a washing machine covered in graffiti, and-

"Oh! Batteries!" A familiar voice cried from behind Gura.

Amelia approached by Gura's side and crouched down to pick up something from the edge of the pile. The detective held up the item as she stood up, and it shone against the sunset. Upon a closer inspection, Gura realized that Amelia was holding up a tiny battery.

"Yoo, a battery nice," Gura said, although she was confused why Amelia was excited for finding such a mundane item. "What's it for?"

"Nothing really, I just can't find any batteries back at the base which is damn weird since it's literally an office building,"

"And you thought finding batteries at the dump is...a good idea?"

"I mean, better than spending so much money on more. And look, they're the rechargeable kind!" Amelia laughed. "One man's trash is another man's treasure!"

Gura chuckled. "Man, what's with you and those corny sayings,"

"C'mon, I know you love them,"

Amelia had always been a weird person, but for some reason, that day she'd been acting weirder than usual, if such was possible. Before they left to go to the dump, she looked so eerily serious, and there had been a look on her face that Gura had never seen Amelia expressed before, an expression she couldn't read. But it was Amelia's eyes that gave Gura the most concern, there was no flicker of light Gura was used to seeing that lit up those cerulean eyes.

Just darkness, as if that flicker of light had faded out.

Gura tried to ask what was wrong, but the mission began before she got the chance to, and her grievances were forced to the confines of her mind.

And now Amelia was back to her normal self, or as normal as Gura wished to perceived. Happy and cheerful, even in the face of danger.

Something was definitely up with Amelia.

"Come on, we can continue this later, we've got a mission to do," Amelia interjected, her lips quirking up into a small grin.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya'" Gura replied, rolling her eyes. "What's with the cases anyways?"

"Botan-senpai's, apparently she got a hold on some guns,"

"Excuse me, guns!?"

"Yep!" Amelia said as she approached the cases dumped in the clearing, Gura following suit.

There were only three, all dusty and rusting from the passage of time. In a bold, red color, the words 'BOTAN'S DON'T TOUCH' were stamped on the covers with spraypaint. The cover of one of the cases was wide open, and Gura took the chance to peer inside and marvel at the contents. A rifle sat in the middle, polished and shined with the orange glow of the sunset as if it was just recently bought or had been taken care of quite well. Along with the rifle were three handguns of varying sizes and types, sitting on the upper left corner of the case above the rifle.

"That's...so much," Gura mused. "Forgot how much Botan-senpai likes her guns."

"God, I know right? Apparently, she got these guns from the Dark Web,"

"Really? Isn't that like...illegal?"

"Gura, we are literally in the middle of a revolutionary war right now, I don't think anyone in Japan cares about the legality of stuff like this by this point,"

"Fair point," Gura chuckled.

However, she stopped awkwardly when she noticed the faraway look in Amelia's eyes. The latter stared at the gaping entrance of the factory, the decaying metal looming down like stalactites over the darkness, and her eyes narrowed. Her eyebrows creased into a frown, and her shoulders were raised as she crossed her arms over her chest- she almost looked like she was expecting something to emerge from the shadows.

Gura had never seen Amelia this tense before, and it was starting to get suspicious.

"Hey man, you alright?" Gura asked as she placed her hand on Amelia's shoulder.

Amelia looked like she shook herself back to reality and looked back at Gura.

"Oh! yes, I'm fine, what's up?"

"You looked weird just then, did you see somethin'?"

As Amelia opened her mouth to respond, the ground began to make slight movements, which rapidly became more violent. Gura felt the upheaval of the earth beneath her and almost toppled over as she tried to regain her sense of equilibrium. The world around her shook and trembled, everything becoming a dizzying blur in her vision.

"Oh shit!" Amelia exclaimed as she stumbled forwards. Gura caught the latter in her arms before she would land on the filthy ground. 

"Ohohoh, hell yeah!" Gura heard Botan shout from nearby, and she swore she just saw the lioness fish out a pistol from her jacket.

The shaking slowly receded, and Gura could finally stand up properly. She helped Amelia regain her own balance and the two looked at each other in earnest. A voice rang out from the darkness as the tremors came to a complete stop, echoing in the vast space, deep and thunderous as if it came from an inhumane source. 

"...Go away," It had said, sending forth a blast of wind that almost toppled Gura to her feet again.

The latter watched as Coco walked up to the front of the group and summoned a ring of fire to surround them, like a shield. 

"It's here guys!" Coco called out as everyone immediately readied their weapons. "Try not to get yourselves killed!"

Amelia came up beside Gura, as the latter brandished her trident. "Wanna have a bet?"

"A bet- Amelia, we're going to fight something right now!"

"C'mon it'll be fun!" Amelia urged, a grin sneaking into her face. Gura swore this girl was going to get her killed.

She looked around at each of her fellow teammates before her eyes landed back on Amelia's grinning face, and gave a sigh. 

"Fine...I accept," Gura said begrudgingly. "So what's the bet?"

"First one to get a hit on the thing that just spoke gets...uh...first pick of tomorrow night's desserts?" Amelia said as she brandished her daggers.

"Oh, you are so on,"

* * *

**「Next time」**

"Amelia, look out!"

"What makes you feel...like you're invincible...to death? is it the pocket...watch? the knowledge from a life you...left long...ago?"

"Time...is a fickle thing..."

"Oh god...please don't die on me you bastard..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No doodle for this chapter, I'm quite busy with school rn (Physics suck but I need to take it for Architecture *cries*). I didn't edit this chapter which is a bad idea so if you find any mistakes, I apologise. Anyways, I'll be gone for a while so I won't post stuff for two weeks (I'm sorry). But if I get the chance before Wednesday this week (NZT) I'll post a short 1,000 word chapter.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!


	6. 5.5// The Eldritch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is wrong and it can feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as I promised, a small chapter before I disappear for a while (though it's short of 1,000 words)

How many years had it been since the eldritch spent resting in this cave, only accompanied by the sound of water dripping from the stalactites that formed above its sleek, black head, and the tendrils of shadows from the corners of its rocky confine that twitched and slithered like snakes.

It was impossible to keep track of time in this shimmery, drowsy darkness, where the light and warmth of the sun never touch. Though free itself, it felt trapped, it felt like it was a prisoner of its own home-

Wait, what home? This murky cave wasn't home to it, it was more like a prison cell. The Abyss was its home and it will always be, a place where those foolish, conniving, little creatures known as humans won't be able to reach, even with the help of their fancy, advanced technology.

The eldritch remembered a time where it flew high above the sunset-dipped clouds, free as it could be, where it could outstretch these desperate wings. The wind blowing against its towering, shadowed figure, ruffling the feathers of its humongous wings that beat against the air. And then flying low over the ocean, it remembered that refreshing feeling when the cool water splashed against its face, gliding over the water's surface in a balletic fashion that would transfix most who would witness it.

Now here it was, curling up in a cave and intended to rest for ages, to soak power into its old bones.

And as it was about to place its head under its graceful feathery wings-

That sound came,

It sounded like an explosion, a sound fast and sharp, like the eldritch itself. It was as if something powerful had been awoken from its slumber,

like the eldritch itself.

Having been woke too early to its liking, the eldritch shrieked its disapproval. The Earth rumbled and shook from its burst of rage. The trees nearby the cave bent and splintered but in a normal way, unlike how it would do in the Abyss. And that was infuriating for the eldritch. Everything thing in the normal world was all sensical. right. round. right-side-up. Unlike the Abyss.

"Ina'nis...my child, where are you?" It whispered in a shrill voice as it raised its head.

A purple mist began to form right in front of its feet and it began to swirl and mold itself into a humanoid shape.

"Ina'nis...there you are," The eldritch whispered again, lowering its head towards the mist.

"What is your command, master," The mist spoke in the eldritch's tongue. "Is it...perhaps happening?"

"Indeed it has, she has begun her move," The eldritch replied. "And she has already changed the timeline."

"What should I do?"

"Be my eyes, for now. If she decides to make another move, then I want you to intervene."

"Of course, master." The mist said as it began to dissolve. "I shall see to it then."And then the mist disappeared, leaving the eldritch alone in its confine of darkness.

The eldritch exhaled. "Having two humans going back in time was a mistake."

It tried to move its arm, but anytime it moved, pain shot through its body like bullets, and his fury sprang to life again.

The eldritch couldn't wait to unleash its rage into this world. It would punish the oceans, the skies, the Earth, and its people for not being as wrong as its birthplace.

But first, the eldritch will have to rest, for it was very, very tired.


	7. 6// Stayin' Alive [Part 1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia expected the events from the previous timeline to continue on in the present, however, not everything goes to plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't edited this, I apologize if the end sounds a bit rushed.

Amelia recoiled in instinct as a bullet whizzed past her and grazed the tip of her ear. She stumbled backward and ended up collapsing to the concrete bottom first as her feet became tangled with one another. 

"Oi, what the fuck Botan-senpai!" Amelia exclaimed as she got up to her feet. "You nearly shot my head off!"

Amelia could barely make out Botan's apology from the discordant harmony of gunfire, shouts, and magic being summoned. 

A while ago, it had been quiet and peaceful, despite that lingering tensed feeling that crept along the make-shift squad of Mythoses and Humans, but a sudden appearance of the strange being- the one everyone believed to have been the reason many of Cover Corps' members had gone missing around the area- had warranted a fight and chaos ensued as the squad released their onslaught of weapons and abilities in order to eliminate the being.

Bullets illuminated the darkened sky like dancing fireflies, and lightning and flames flashed across the concrete battlefield and lit up the darkness with their magnificent light- the sky being graced with brilliant shades of orange and red- the sound echoing throughout the boundless space like a clap of thunder. Smoke blanketed the vastness and all Amelia could see was flashes of light coming from every direction and vague silhouettes that came and went.

The scent of gunpowder burnt Amelia's nose and throat and it felt like she had just recently chugged down a whole mug of gasoline and someone had lit it on fire. Anxiety rumbled in her stomach and an uneasy feeling seized her entire body- and it felt like a giant hand came and clutched onto her with a vice-like grip.

Amelia had expected this fight to occur- it did happen in the previous timeline at the same date, at the same time- she shouldn't feel nervous, she should be confident. She knew what would happen next, she had all the knowledge of a predetermined timeline! And she could use it to her advantage, she finally had the power to fix a future that never should have occurred-

And yet Amelia still felt nervous. There was something in the ambiance that felt...wrong as if the hands of time had shifted something again- and yet everything stayed the same, the chaos, the smell, the noises. She remembered it all. And as much as she could try to fight that feeling back, it quickly overwhelmed her.

Amelia took a deep breath and exhaled as her fingers fondled with the pocket watch stored away in the pockets of her coat. 

_We're fighting right now, Amelia. Just focus for now_. Amelia sighed. _Right, because that's pretty easy to do_.

Amelia spotted something about to emerge from the grey. A sound almost similar to a whistle could just barely be heard before a javelin of dark energy flew through the smoke. She managed to react in time and dived for nearby cover just as the surging energy struck the ground where she stood.

"Well...wasn't that pretty close," Amelia said, to no one in particular as her hand clutched her chest, the high of shock wearing out as quickly as it came.

"Shit, Amelia are you alright!?" A voice called out from nearby that Amelia managed to discern from the chaos. "Wait...Amelia-san, look out!"

A figure quickly slid up right beside Amelia and leaned against the concrete barrier the latter hid behind as another flash of an explosion graced the darkness again. She firmly covered her ears with her hands and curled her body in as a burst of shockwave struck the barrier with a deafening bang. 

It took Amelia a while to recover her senses. She could hear everything, a constant ringing that resonated with her own heartbeats, and various muffled noises from everywhere that struck her like a conjugating mess. She lifted her head from the confines of her arms and looked around, her vision a dizzying blur of colors.

There was a tight buzzing in her chest that was screaming for her to run- what in particular, she didn't know. Around the same time, her limbs remained frozen- her arms stuck in a strange position as if she was expecting someone to hit her and was preparing to block the attack. It almost felt like she'd been cursed with some mysterious paralysis that rendered him unable to move from her spot hiding behind the concrete barrier.

Salt burns the corner of Amelia's eyes. She was never going to get used to the explosions, no matter which timeline.

 _Panicking...already?_ A soft voice spoke in Amelia's mind. She immediately knew whose voice it belonged to, it was really quite recognizable. _Your mind...it is weak...so, so weak...maybe you should have...just accepted...the future that was...never meant to be_.

"You can fuck right off," Amelia replied quietly underneath her breath to the deity. "I can't deal with your shit right now,"

Amelia could picture the bone mask on the deity's face twisting abnormally to imitate a frown. 

_Don not...really need to..._ It made a noise as if it was trying to scoff. _I am just here to...say that you have some...company..._

"-Melia-san?" Amelia scrambled to the side immediately in surprise as another voice joined them. She forgot that another figure had come scrambling towards her before that massive explosion struck the battlefield.

The world was almost pitch-black in Amelia's vision, but luckily the fighting past the concrete barrier had at least provided her with some light so she could kind of see who the figure was. Amelia's eyes traveled towards a tail, a pair of a lion's ears sitting on top of a crown of snow-white hair, and then towards a pair of silver eyes- almost akin to a cat's eye with the pupils dilated into slits- that shone like gems in the darkness.

The figure held a rifle and was busy inserting a fresh magazine into its loading chamber that they hadn't notice Amelia was watching them.

"Botan-senpai!" Amelia exclaimed. 

The two feline ears twitched upon hearing Amelia's voice. The figure slowly turned their head to face Amelia and their eyes instantly lit up with awareness.

"Amelia-san...alright there!?" Botan was shouting over the hail of gunfire, but even then Amelia could still barely hear her voice. "That explosion...earlier...are you hurt!?"

Amelia shook her head in reply just as Botan slapped the charging handle of her rifle forward to lock the magazine.

"That's good then!" Botan shouted. The latter quickly poked her head out and opened fire to whatever was beyond the concrete barrier. 

Amelia almost yelped at the first shot and scrambled away from Botan as the sudden burst of gunfire made her become more alert to her surroundings. She could hear the deity's voice chortling inside her mind and all she wanted to do was reach her into it- if that was ever possible- grab the deity's neck and strangle it.

"What the hell are you laughing for?" Amelia was careful to speak beneath her breath, in case Botan would overhear and start questioning who Amelia was talking to. "I was just surprised, that's all."

 _I apologize...but you should...have seen your face_. The deity chuckled. Amelia was more or less surprised that something as ancient as the deity was capable of experiencing humor.

"Haha, very funny. Now shut up before-"

 _Before what...you...kill me?_ Amelia imagined the bone mask twisting again to form a delirious smile. _You are...a simple...mortal, and I...am a being who is as old as...time-_

"Yes, yes I get it. You're a god, I'm a human, please forgive me," Amelia interrupted as she rolled her eyes. 

The deity growled. _You are...an idiot_.

"And you're annoying,"

The deity doesn't reply, Amelia felt relief when the deity decided to stop talking. She turned her head back towards Botan just as the latter retreated back to the cover of the concrete barrier and reloading another magazine into her rifle.

"What's happening over there?!" Amelia shouted, covering her ears as another explosion hits. 

"The thing that attacked us, It's summoning some kind of shadow tentacle thingys and it's taking forever to get rid of them!" Botan replied as she opened fire again. "Fuck, and there's a lot of it!"

Amelia became curious, she poked her head from the side of the concrete barrier and checked her surroundings. Thankfully, most of the smoke had cleared up and she could get a better view of the area.

The dump looked more in ruins than it ever was- a statement Amelia would never guess would be possible. There were debris and garbage strewn about like fallen Lego pieces, and concrete upturned from the ground like a jagged mountainscape in the Alps. Crackling flames rose from the distance- painting Amelia's vision with the color of hell. The abandoned factory could just be seen from beyond the orange flames- it almost looked like a castle belonging to Hades himself, and just hammered Amelia's image of hell in.

Looking closely in the distance, Amelia could just spot a silhouette of something just flicking back and forth like an anemone in water. It was quite long and thin- Amelia thought it looked like a snake. 

It wasn't until that the thing moved closer to the flames that Amelia could properly discern what the thing really was. And honestly, she couldn't quite believe it.

"Is that a fucking..."

 _Tentacle...yes_. The deity finished for her. 

Amelia almost forgot about the tentacles, the ones that Ina could summon to aid her in fighting. They weren't exactly tentacles, but amalgamations of darkness that twitched and pulsed as if it was a living thing- and it was really, really fucking creepy. 

The muscles in Amelia's neck tensed up uncomfortably as the tendrils of shadows crept slowly closer, her eyes never leaving its slithering form. She would have been mesmerized by its pulsating display, how it danced like a snake hypnotized by a snake charmer's music, but she was just horribly disgusted by it that all she wanted to do was look away.

"Disgusting right!?" Botan shouted, her lips quirking up into a big grin as she reloaded again. "I already took down three of 'em, pretty difficult to, but they have a weak spot right in the middle of their bodies,"

"Uh-huh..." 

_Taking out...three of the Priestess'...pawns?_ The deity chuckled. Amelia noted that it sounded impressed. _Ah, this Mythos...she is..strong_.

"Well, should we try and get inside the factory?" Amelia asked the deity.

 _I guess the...best course of action...is to do that_. The deity hummed. _The problem is...those amalgamations...they cannot see...but they are very sensitive...to vibrations_.

"I remembered from last time, I guess sneaking past them would be easier to do than run in, guns blazing," Amelia spoke, putting her chin onto her fingers as her mind began circulating with various thoughts of plans and schemes. 

_Yes, but we...cannot waste anymore...time_. The deity replied, the tone of its voice becoming low as if it was becoming impatient. _We have already...wasted plenty...when you decided to...hide_.

Amelia scoffed. "So what? I just...needed a bit to get used to this, to remember everything about what happened here,"

 _...I guess that...makes enough sense_. 

"Wow, for once you actually understand where I'm coming from,"

 _Be quiet...my patience is...running thin_. The deity warned. _Well then...do you have a...plan_?

Amelia gave one, last look at the convulsing tentacle before her eyes wandered towards Botan- who was occupied unloading an empty magazine from her rifle- and a sudden thought struck her. 

"Remember when I said that we shouldn't just run in, firing guns and shit?" Amelia finally spoke, almost chuckling to herself as a plan began to formulate in her mind.

 _...Yes?_ The deity replied, audibly confused by what Amelia was trying to suggest. _But I...see no correlation, what...are you trying to suggest...here?_

"You can see through my mind right?" Amelia said. "Go ahead and read it, I've got a plan,"

The deity immediately turned silent, and Amelia assumed that it was doing what she had asked and was looking through her 'brilliant plan. At least for once, it was being slightly helpful and complying with whatever Amelia was asking it to do. 

What felt like a minute passed by like a blur before the deity suddenly howled with laughter, or what Amelia assumed how it sounded like when it laughed- the sound a reminiscent of a Hyena laughing, but if it was distorted.

 _What...is this...plan!_ The deity asked as its laughter slowly died down. _Do you intend to...get yourself killed?_

"I don't really remember what I did in the previous timeline, but I do remember that I managed to get to the factory quite quickly," Amelia remarked as she looked back at the swaying tendril of shadows. "I'm guessing I might have ran instead of sneaking in,"

_Ah, but is a single...glimpse of a...rotting memory of a life...you left long ago...enough assurance for your...plan?_

"No idea, but I gotta try and find out,"

 _Well then...if you are thinking of going...through with this...plan of yours...then I suggest you use...a firearm rather than...a dagger_.

"My dagger?" Amelia glanced down at the dagger she held in her hands.

A pale, haunting glow from the moonlight reflected off the dagger's blade, giving it a more ethereal visage. As Amelia peered closer to the blade, she could see a young girl, blonde hair and blue eyes filled with so much hope and determination, and her lips quirked up into a big, toothy smile as if the girl had no care in the world.

It was a reflection of the girl Amelia used to be, so high-spirited, so determined to see the world change, that she was far too blind to really see reality as it is.

It was almost like the ghost of her former life was coming back to haunt her, taunting her by reminding her of how stupid, weak and ignorant she had been. 

Her stomach rumbled with unease. She felt sick, she wanted to vomit. 

Amelia closed her eyes and willed for the image to go away, for now, she just wanted to forget and focus on the present- she couldn't risk becoming distracted when this was the only chance she could ever get to change the future.

Amelia opened her eyes cautiously and looked down at the dagger again. The haunting visage of her younger self disappeared, replaced by the reflection of her current self. 

_Hmm...you...still kept that...dagger the girl...used to stab...you on the back?_ The deity's voice popped up in Amelia's mind. _A weird thing...to do...but I will digress_.

"I shouldn't have kept it," Amelia said as she placed the dagger back in its sheath that hung precariously on her belt. "But if the time calls for it, I'll use the same dagger she used to stab me on the back, to kill her,"

The deity hummed. _Well then...let us just hope...that you...or the girl...do not mess up, then...shall we?_

"Me too...uh"

_What...is wrong?_

"Do you even have a name that I can call you?"

Amelia noticed that the deity hesitated to answer, it was only a nanosecond of a moment but it did not escape her notice.

 _I do...but it is a peculiar name...maybe I will...tell you after this whole...predicament_. The deity finally spoke, its voice seemingly carefree but managed to betray a small amount of surprise.

"Hm, alright then," Amelia replied and decided not to pry any further, even if her curiosity was slowly eating her away. "Well then, you good with the plan?"

 _It is rather...idiotic...but I see no...other way past the...amalgamations. So I say...just go ahead with it_. 

"Alright then, let's do this,"

Amelia turned her attention towards Botan who was just about to poke her head above the concrete barrier again. "Hey, Botan-senpai!"

"Hm? You need something, Amelia-san!?" Botan responded.

"I need a favor from you, would that be alright!?"

"Sure! What do you need me to do!?"

"Could you cover for me while I run like hell to the factory!?"

"What!?"

\---

 _May I remind...you again...dear Amelia_. The deity spoke, the tone of its voice remained neutral but Amelia could just hear the hint of annoyance that dripped from its tongue like venom. _That this is... a stupid idea..._

"And let me also remind you that you already said yes to the plan?" Amelia said with a grunt as she skidded to the left to dodge a tendril that came streaking towards her like a missile.

 _Yes, that was...rather stupid...of me_. The deity grumbled. _I should...have seen this..coming...I regret ever...giving you the freedom to...think of a plan_. 

"Well, too bad we're here now, no takebacks. And anyway, we're super close to the factory now, so don't start complaining there,"

The deity doesn't answer back, and instead went back to its usual mumbling and ramblings of the stupidity of humankind. Though a little bit irked by the deity's frustrating demeanor, Amelia decided to ignore it for now and doesn't speak any further.

Gunshots from nearby attracted Amelia's attention. The latter's head whipped towards the direction where the noise emanated just as Botan burst through the smoke and jumped down from a pile of debris, shooting blindly at the tendrils the crept ever closer to them. 

There was a delirious smile on Botan's face, and the pupils of her eyes were dilated like an excited cat. The lion looked like she was frenzy with a euphoric exhilaration and didn't seem to notice another tendril slithering close from behind her.

"Botan-senpai, duck!" Amelia exclaimed as she brandished her revolver from her coat and aimed for the tendril's weak spot.

Upon hearing Amelia's alert, Botan instantly ducked just as Amelia pulled the trigger. The bullet whistled through the air and pierced through the hardened carapace in the middle of the tendril's body- its very weak spot. Immediately, the tendril convulsed violently as a black substance began spraying out from the wound like a broken faucet. Eventually, the tendril stopped convulsing and fell down on the concrete that was coated and slick with the dark substance and doesn't move again.

"Thanks, Amelia-san!" Botan shouted. 

"Yeah, no problem! But are you alright?" Amelia asked as her eyes trailed towards the multiple wounds that adorned Botan's body- scratches on her limbs that were deep enough to draw a small amount of blood, an eye beaten and black, the side of her hip bleeding from a bullet wound, and a giant gash on her stomach that was bleeding profusely.

"Don't worry about it! I'll find Lamy and she'll heal me up, no biggie!" Botan answered with a carefree grin. "Apparently she's inside the factory with Gura-san, Ayame-san, and Coco-kaichou to take care of the entity,"

 _Shit, they're already inside!?_ Amelia gave an innocent smile as she ignored her inner thoughts screaming in her mind. _That thing was right, I've wasted too much time!_

"Well, come on let's get going then!" Botan exclaimed, and she quickly jumped back to the fray to shoot more of the tendrils that inched closer towards them. Revolver in hand and ever so poised and ready for combat, Amelia followed suit behind the lion.

Amelia dashed past many of the amalgamations that were too slow to catch up to her, sweeping her revolver across everything she saw-just in case one of them suddenly lashed out from the rubble in surprise.

 _You...you had a...firearm this...entire time!?_ The deity spoke once again just as Amelia ran past another one of the tendrils.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Amelia asked. 

However, her mind becomes preoccupied as she heard a slight movement to her left, and she doesn't hear what the deity has to say. She quickly twisted her body towards the noise and raised her revolver as another one of the tendrils rose from behind a pile of debris. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.

Amelia watched as the bullet tore through the tendril's body, penetrating it like a needle through a pincushion. The tendril goes down in a heap without much complaint, it slithered- like the tail of a lizard that had recently been cut off- and then it convulsed a bit before it fell limp on the ground.

Amelia wiped off some of the tendril's blood that splattered onto her face, and her sleeve became stained with the black substance.

She continued running towards the factory, following the sound of Botan's almost-manic laughter coming from somewhere over the distance.

 _Hm, I have a...feeling you were not listening...to me_. The deity spoke again, sounding disappointed.

Amelia scoffed. "Couldn't you see that I was busy trying not to get killed by the amalgamations?" 

... _I saw_. The deity replied. _And may I say that...you have become...too reckless?_

"What the hell do you even mean?"

The deity fell silent as a shadow loomed over Amelia's figure. Her curiosity forced her to look up and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight.

Botan whistled as she stood beside Amelia. "Damn, this place is massive!"

Amelia silently agreed.

She forgot how gigantic the abandoned factory was. Amid the evening mist and the moon's harsh glow, the rusted, metal walls seem to hold a supernatural stillness, and it creaked and groaned as if it was alive. The giant holes on the metallic walls looked almost like there were hundreds of pairs of eyes that stared right at Amelia and seemed to observed like hundreds of guarding sentinels. The entrance was possibly the worst bit, years of abandonment hadn't done wonders to the old structure, and the metal that made up the entranceway had rusted beyond the point where it managed to collapse and gave an appearance of a jagged, gaping mouth of a giant beast that only led to the depths of the darkness.

Amelia heard the sound of fighting from beyond the darkness. It was a harsh crescendo of intense gunfire, the clanging of metal brought against each other, and shouting.

She could see the light of sparks being lit in the darkness, followed by a flash.

"Shit, they're already fighting!" Amelia cursed as she walked inside, Botan following close behind her.

 _Let me...ask you a...question...dear, Amelia._ The deity spoke again.

"Not now, you dumbass!" Amelia seethed as she pushed her way through debris and rubble, the sound of the fighting growing stronger as she moved closer.

Botan said something about going on first to find Lamy and left Amelia to her own devices. The latter didn't say anything and let her continue, anyways she had an annoying god that was living in her head that she needed to take care of.

 _No, this is...an important...question_. 

"Whatever question it is, can it wait until later when we're not fighting!?" Amelia barked.

The deity doesn't seem to listen. _What makes you feel...like you are invincible...to death? is it the pocket...watch? the knowledge from a life you...left long...ago?_

Amelia doesn't speak and continued on trudging through the debris, but it didn't matter anyway, her silence already gave the deity an answer.

 _...It seems...I am right_. The deity spoke. There was no malice in its voice as Amelia expected, whatever emotions it was conveying was masked by the neutrality in its voice. 

"Shut the fuck up, I don't have the energy to deal with you right now."

Before the deity could retort, something darted past Amelia's face and nicked her cheeks. It was only a small gash but it drew quite a bit amount of blood. She yelped in surprise and staggered backward as she clutched her cheek.

More gunfires rang out through the darkness, and as she listened closely she could hear someone shouting her name.

"What the fuck!" Amelia cried as she backed up against a wall.

 _Dear Amelia...you should...look up right...now_. The deity spoke urgently. Amelia noticed the fear in its voice, and she tried with all her will to not let herself be infected with the deity's panic.

Amelia heard a robotic whirling from above her and hesitantly looked up. She saw nothing at first, just the darkness that seemed to spread on for forever. She was confused why the deity suddenly warned her of something when there was nothing there.

A small chuckle forced its way out of Amelia's mouth, maybe the deity was just trying to trick her, its title was the 'Monarch of Lies' after all.

Then the darkness seemed to move with a low, moaning sound like metal moving and rubbing against each other. From the highest point that Amelia's vision could perceive, two red dots appear, like a pair of eyes staring at somewhere but not at her.

The 'darkness' had been metal all along.

"Is that a..." Amelia found it hard to form complete words as she stared back at the red dots in shock. "...Wither...?"

 _I am...afraid so...dear, Amelia_. The deity said.

If there was one thing that Amelia hated the most about the future she knew about, the Withers were probably in second place. They could be best labeled as 'robots', created by the ANTIs as weapons to hunt down Mythoses and capture or kill them. They were gigantic machines of war that had three heads, had no appendages that resembled limbs, and moved with the use of some kind of antigravity tech that gave it an illusion that it hovered in the air like magic. 

And now one of them is there in the past.

"But...that's impossible! How are they in this timeline!? They were first created two months after the battle!" Amelia blurted. "First, Liria joined us too early, and now one of the Withers is here in the fucking past!?"

 _Time...is a fickle thing..._ The deity answered ominously. _The slightest action...can significantly alter...the future_.

"Are...are you saying time has a mind of its own?"

 _No, you fool...I am saying you've become too...hasty and have not..paid attention to everything...around you_. 

"Are you saying I caused all of the anomalies?" Amelia seethed as she ducked behind a stone column nearby to hide from the Wither's watching eyes. "I did what you told me to do! I followed on from what I did in the previous timeline and changed nothing from there!"

 _I am not...blaming you...I am just irked that the...answer hasn't come...to you_.

"What answer!?" Amelia lashed out, confused and annoyed by whatever the deity was trying to hint at.

Thankfully, the deity was a patient thing and held no anger towards Amelia's vexed attitude towards it. 

_Someone...or something else...is trying to change the...present as well_.

Amelia froze. An uneasy feeling quickly filled her body and she felt her chest becoming heavy as she struggled to let air into her lungs.

That couldn't be true, the deity was the only one capable of traveling through time, and it was only helping Amelia in her mission to alter the future and make a happier ending, so it shouldn't be possible that a second person had traveled back to the past.

Right?

_**Right?** _

However, Amelia's pondering thoughts came to a sudden stop when her eyes landed on a small figure over by the corner, bruised and battered, coughing out a fair amount of blood as they leaned against a trident.

Amelia's eyes widened at the sight of the blue, shark-themed hoodie the figure was holding, and she felt fear constrict her heart.

_Oh...oh no...oh god..._

The memories from the battle that ended Cover Corps struck her, collapsing to her knees as the memories overwhelmed her. The corners of her eyes burn from tears she refused to shed. She clutched the ground in agony, her fingers digging through the dirt and filth, and tried with all her strength and will to forget.

But she just couldn't.

Bodies of her friends littered in the ground left to rot.

_No...stop..._

The hellish landscape the world became as the Withers rampaged like demons from hell.

_Please just stop..._

And Gura's torn and battered body.

_Gura... **GURA!**_

She refused to let it happen again. This time, things were going to change.

It had to.

Amelia's desire to change the future filled her body with renewed vigor, and without hesitation she lifted herself from the ground, willing for herself to forget the memories once again. She stumbled to her feet, swaying a little as she tried to regain her balance. 

Amelia hurried towards Gura, tripping and staggering on her way as she. "Oh god...please don't die on me you bastard!"

Upon hearing Amelia's voice, Gura's sunken eyes lit up and were filled with recognition as she saw the detective dashing towards her in her familiar, clumsy fashion. 

At the same time, the Wither slowly twisted its hulky body around as they heard a voice from beneath it, and its eyes locked onto a tiny figure that was carelessly moving about in its presence.

**「Next time」**

"You...owe me..."

"Go, I'll take care of the thing, and I'll come back. I promise"

" _ **DIE, YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT!**_ "

"S...sHe isS...hErE..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the slightly late update, school has been w e I r d.
> 
> Its kinda obvious where I named the Wither from, so I guess I should say that the robots the ANTIs build are named after hostile Minecraft mobs, since Hololive members play MC a lot. 
> 
> Anyways, going from that, since school has been getting tough lately and I need some time to study and stuff, posting will probably take around the same time (2-4 weeks maybe) I apologize for the inconvenience.
> 
> And lastly, would you guys like it if I posted extra things like more doodles and extra chapters (like chapter 5.5)? I’m planning to do a little sketch of Liria’s hideaway later on maybeee.


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